Tender Greens is going cashless by Jan. 29, according to an open letter published on its website.

"To continue paying our team members a living wage, partnering with incredible farmers and ranchers who grow with integrity, and using high-quality ingredients we need to once again look at how we can innovate and think differently towards the future," the website said.

Over the years, the chain which opened in 2006, has seen the percentage of its cash transactions drop significantly —  into the single digits. 

"It seems that people are moving away from cash and technology is making it easier than ever to tap and go. We crunched the data, did some time-motion studies, and tested our theories at a new restaurant. We learned that a significant amount of time (both guests and our team) was spent on handling cash and managing that cash. At the restaurant we tested cashless, we noticed that guests were getting through the line faster and our teams were getting back hours of time to do more interesting and meaningful things."

Leadership believes customers will spend less time waiting in line and that getting rid of cash is more efficient because workers can focus on cooking and spending time with guests instead of the administrative work associated with cash. 

"It's cleaner and better for the environment because there will be no armored trucks picking up and dropping off cash, no more plastic deposit bags, and paper for cash deposit slips," the letter said.

To make it easier on guests, the chain said it is launching a new digital gift card feature on its mobile app next month. Customers will be able to pay in-store and online using gift cards on the app, buy gift cards, share the balance with friends and family, and load those gift cards you've been holding onto in your wallet.

"We recognize that people still carry and use cash, we haven't moved to a completely cashless society yet. We know that going cashless is not a perfect solution for everyone," the website stated. "For those who are affected by this change, we apologize for any inconvenience it may cause. We know there will be some hiccups along the way and we're committed to finding solutions that will benefit everyone."