The 10 places where the U.S. wants to mandate cash

March 29, 2019 12:01 AM

U.S. lawmakers are not enthusiastic about the cashless trend being driven by the likes of Amazon Go, sweetgreen, and numerous other merchants of all sizes.

Several cities and states have proposed or enacted legislation banning cashless stores, in an effort to preserve choices for consumers that prefer to operate with cash. Here’s the status of states and cities that currently enforce or are considering a ban on cashless stores.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts is leading this movement with decades of experience. In 1978, when merchants were growing fans of credit cards, Massachusetts lawmakers approved the Discrimination Against Cash Buyers amendment requiring all stores to accept cash.

Stores that are cashless in other regions must obey the law in Massachusetts. For example, Washington, D.C.-based fast-casual restaurant chain sweetgreen, which has 75 outlets, has altered is cashless policy to allow cash purchases at its Massachusetts stores.

Connecticut

The Connecticut General Assembly in March approved a bill that would prohibit businesses from refusing cash as payment.

The bill passed March 21 with a vote of 15-1, and it will go into effect Oct. 1, 2019. The law applies to in-person transactions and excludes parking lots and merchants selling goods through memberships.

New Jersey

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation in March banning cashless businesses.

The law is effective immediately and fines begin at $2,500 for a first offense, rising to $5,000 for a second offense. Exceptions include parking facilities, rental car companies and airport vendors. Additional penalties could apply under New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, according to local reports.

Amazon operates a cashless bookstore in Paramus, N.J. Amazon issued a “no comment” when contacted about its plans to cope with government bans on its cashless stores.

New York

New York's state government proposed a law in 2019 to ban cashless businesses.

Previously, the New York City Council conducted a hearing on a proposal to prohibit merchants from refusing to accept cash. Violators would face fines of up to $500 for each infraction. NYC Councilmember Ritchie Torres reportedly is confident the bill will pass by the middle of the year.

Barclays Center, home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and NHL’s Islanders, has already phased out cash at most of its 28 concession stands operated by Levy Restaurants, which earlier this year converted Tampa Bay’s Tropicana Field to a cashless venue earlier this year. At that sports venue in Florida, Levy provides kiosks enabling consumers to exchange cash for a closed-loop prepaid card usable anywhere in the facility.

New York City is also home to many cashless restaurants — ranging from large chains to small shops — and is reportedly a target site for at least one Amazon Go cashless store.

California (San Francisco)

In March, San Francisco lawmakers proposed amending the local police code to require that brick-and-mortar businesses accept payment in cash for purchase of goods and services, other than professional services. Fines would range from $50 to $1,000 for reach infraction.

The city noted that businesses would be able to continue to refuse cash payments in denominations over $20 or currency deemed to be counterfeit.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. Councilman David Grosso introduced a bill in 2018 to ban cashless restaurants.

That bill did not advance, but in February of 2019 Grosso tried again with a revised proposal, the Cashless Retailers Prohibition Act of 2019, expanding the ban on card-only merchants to include all retail establishments.

The 10 places where the U.S. wants to mandate cash

Massachusetts

Connecticut

New Jersey

New York

Oregon

Rhode Island

Illinois (Chicago)

Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)

California (San Francisco)

Washington, D.C.