CASH is slowly being phased out at Brighton and Hove Albion’s ground, starting this weekend.

From next season Albion fans will be unable to use cash when watching home games.

The club has announced plans to transition to “cashless match days” from August 2020, or possibly sooner.

The first phase starts when Albion take on Burnley on Saturday.

The kiosk on the north side of the East Upper stand and the middle kiosk in all other stadium concourses will only be accepting credit or debit cards this weekend.

It means food stalls, programme kiosks and the merchandise store will all only accept payments on card and the system will be expanded in the coming months.

The club hopes the change will give fans “speedier service” at the Amex when buying food and drink or merchandise.

Speaking on the club’s website, chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber said the new system would benefit fans.

He said: “Our research shows the average transaction time of a cash payment at the Amex is 167 seconds, compared with 83 seconds for all card payments.

“By moving to a totally cashless stadium, we have the opportunity to cut current cash-based service times in half.

“That’s a huge improvement so it’s easy to see why new stadia are opting to be cashless.

“Improving service times during peak periods and shorter service periods, such as half-time and immediately after the game, will be better for everyone.

“A cashless stadium also makes things simpler and more secure for us, will reduce costs for Sodexo [the catering company] and for us, and it will ultimately help us keep prices down.

“We appreciate there are those fans who like to pay in cash, but technology is evolving quickly and ultimately we have made this decision to benefit the majority.

“The good news is that a majority of our fans are already paying by card rather than with cash in the stadium, so the transition will be quick and easy for many fans.”

When Albion first moved to the Amex, fans had a choice to upload money on to their season tickets and use that as a method of payment.

That system is no longer in place.

However there has been a mixed reception to the news from Seagulls supporters on social media

Former Hove MP and Albion fan Ivor Caplin took to Twitter to respond to the news.

He said: “An excellent decision. Works very well at the Oval with plenty of access to machines so no delays.”

But there has been some concern from fans about how those without debit or credit cards will fare under the new system.

Arthur Gray said: “No consideration for elderly people without cards or children this a retrograde step back and how are you going to control the sweets and programme sales?

Joanna Tidey said: “What about all the young kids who have not got cards, and some adults?

“I think this is very disappointing decision by the club.”