In some speres, it can be an advantage (price wise) to pay cash, which is untraceable & therefore not liable to taxes. You just have to know who & where
1
Two of my favorite businesses in Midland, a health food store and an arts organization that offers classes, have started encouraging cash by charging a fee for use of a credit card. At first I found this a little inconvenient, but only a little. Now I see it as a very progressive policy, and hope the idea spreads!
The comments following this article have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that affluent people really do live in a bubble of privilege. Cash is necessary for the unbanked to have access to essential services, and the further trend to move beyond credit cards to electronic payment systems only available to those with smartphones is one more way that the poor (and elderly, too, particularly when it comes to pay by smartphone) are being shut out of the economic system. But let's all pretend that it's about whether or not a poor person should be eating at a fancy café serving avocado toast, why don't we?
4
cashless systems are great for consumers and for reducing corruption. cash can be stolen, lost, or just plain hard for consumers to track where as services like Mint can easily help people manage their budget. so, all this law really does is make it harder for the poor to spend their money wisely.
@ Andrew Do you work for Mint or have a financial interest in it? If it helps you track your spending, it means it tracks and stores and most likely shares or sells that information to others. Try reading today's articles about the ways apps collect highly detailed location information, even when one isn't using the app, and provide that data to
many other, unknown to the user, people, companies, governments(?) and take a listen to The Daily for today. Same is probably happening with your budgeting/spending information. And for the young ones reading, note that for thousands of years and as recently as, well, today people have been able to manage their finances and budget just fine without apps to track their spending and while still using cash or other physical tender (beads, shells, etc.). The computer they used? It's called their brain.
And then there is the nightmare of identity theft and the credit fraud that often goes with it. And the hacking of databanks and user information (most of which is never made public to users).
Use of credit or debit or other electronic-based trade is convenient and can be easily tracked, for good and bad, but it should not be made the sole means to conduct business with individuals.
4
"When I visited the outpost in Brooklyn the other day, everyone behind the counter was black and everyone in front of it was white. But presumably, eating there would help make the world a better place because my fork would be recycled and the charred avocado I had eaten was dressed with non-GMO canola oil."
Funny, a lot of these artisan businesses (oftentimes, the exact same ones who are cashless) operate on fauxgressive branding and yet they don't even pay their employees above minimum
3
"The strongest objection relates to the ways in which rejecting physical currency plays out as a bias toward the poor, advancing segregation in retail environments." I live in and work in a community with many poor White people who also find it difficult in a cashless world. I hope the writer is talking about segregation of the poor from the affluent, not just race and ethnicity. Having owned my own business in the past, I loved cash customers.
1
People who advocate strongly for more cash do so because it allows them to more easily underreport their earnings come tax time.
3
Your claim is cynical and
Incorrect.
3
sure it limits employee theft in a big way but to force it on folks? i'll go elsewhere. besides, I'm guessing they are somehow collecting the data then selling it for another gain.
2
My boss recently went to card only payments at a quick food place in the Bronx. There’s no cash in the tills and no cash from the tills going into our pockets. There’s no cash from the tills going into the double door safe. There’s no cash from the tills going to the bank deposit safes. We are not in danger of being robbed of our cash because our tills have no cash!
6
Cash is King - My experience is if your genuinely kind to the staff that serves you, they’ll most likely surprise you with a discount.
My husband and I are frequent visitors to NYC and enjoy being in Time Square just people watching. We'd like to spend money drinking or snacking at one of the tables but twice when traveling we've had credit card numbers taken so now we pay cash at kiosks. Imagine our surprise when we couldn't. We just walked away and spent our money someplace else. Knowing that businesses have to pay a fee every time I use a card for my convenience, I pay cash and it is appreciated.
3
I am for rebates for cash paying customers and for a law forbidding the credit card companies from enforcing secret for their contracts with the vendors who take the credit cards.
Also we could have a universal bank transfer system allowing to pay invoices of doctors, contractors , ... seamlessly and without fees. This exists in the European Union and is widely used in Germany where invoices used to be accompanied by wire forms.
Cash isn't exactly free for small businesses. Banks charge small businesses fees to get all those rolls of quarters of dimes they use. And if a store amasses a bunch of change, the bank doesn't just take it back for free - there is a limit. If a business tries to deposit several rolls of pennies - theres a charge for that even if the business rolls them before getting to the bank.
3
The solution to that would be to disallow the banks (which have an $$ interest in everyone going cashless) from refusing to accept US currency (as in limit the amount of coins that may be deposited). As for the other fees for processing cash, those same banks also charge vendors fees to process credit card sales. Go figure.
1
A question: Do any of the businesses that refuse to take cash get any sort of kick-back or inventive or other benefit from any of the credit card companies, banks, PayPal, Apple or other mobile "wallets" or providers of cashless payment platforms?
THAT would make an interesting investigative journalism piece.
3
I think I may stop bringing my business to companies that refuse to accept cash, or at least not to tip. The less attractive these businesses are to potential employees, the better. Especially the ones that don't even pay their employees enough to go full on cashless themselves.
3
Thanks for this important and timely article. The privacy aspect and the forced relinquishing of it by these businesses deserves more coverage. And it and the disproportionate impact on people who cannot for whatever reason get credit are all the more disturbing and immoral when the products or services being sold are food, potable water, clothing and other necessities of life.
And the crime-prevention argument by businesses is ridiculous, especially when one considers the incidence of credit card fraud and identity theft. If they are worried about employees stealing the cash, then the solution is to have better screening, training, and perhaps surveillance of employees (including management). And at least with cash payments, customers have little opportunity to leave without signing (paying) the bill or to dispute and erase the charge later, something I hear is commonplace in the restaurant/bar business.
These businesses and Visa especially, probably just want to be able to track customers, collect, piece together, and sell ever-increasing amounts of data on other people, and to trap more people in the credit card and revolving debt trap.
4
I was once told that it is not legal for a business operating in he US to refuse cash, as it is the legal tender of the United States. Yet I have been to shops that have refused to accept it, which in some circumstances has meant I was not allowed to purchase anything there, as it was all I had on me at the time.
NYT or any of the lawyers reading this, can you clarify what the law(s) says on this? Particularly for physical (not online) vendors?
7
Interestingly, I've lately seen a trend of places offering discounts for paying cash. . . including my nail salon. So. . .
So why is it that the majority of people without credit cards are non-white? Why is it that the majority of poor people are non-white? Why is it that non-white people struggle to pass standardized exams or can't pass a fire department civil service exam? Is the controversial book "The Bell Curve" spot on?
2
I think it's foolish and annoying not to accept cash but a business should be able to decide how to run it's operations.
2
Even if the way they run their business is discriminatory against an entire group of law-abiding people?
And even if their practices effectively reduce the value of Federally-issued and federally-backed currency?
3
@Person
It is no more discriminatory than having luxury car dealerships that sell cars that most of us can't afford. Should be outlaw those too? How about 5 start hotels and restaurants?
2
@cashless restaurant owner
Yes, it IS different. For one thing, paying cash for a 5-star restaurant meal doesn't require me to provide the restaurant owners or their business partners digitized, and so easily shared sold stored and combined with other personal data etc about me. It doesn't require me to make my bank account or my credit rating vulnerable to unscrupulous restaurant employees or owners, who have long been known to sometimes steal customers' credit card or debit card info or to have equipment hacked and data breached (as have other retailers including big ones with huge budgets to spend on security, such as Target).
2
Do pay cash for any purchase under $7.00. As a so-called senior citizen (s) we are target's for scam artists and muggers.
As an afterthought don't do business in Wisconsin. You know why.
1
There's really a very simple solution to alleviate this problem while leveling the playing field --
Instead of charging that 3-percent fee to the merchants and business owners - make the consumer pay it instead -- a 3% "Transaction Fee" for every credit card purchase --
Do that - and see how rapidly cash suddenly makes a resurgence - with articles in the Styles Section about the latest hipster trends for carrying and handling cash...
4
We're talking about 7% or 19% of people who are alleged to be shut out of using credit cards. If it were the vast majority of people or the vast majority of businesses, I would worry. As for me, I only experienced this once where I didn't realize until after I reached the counter that cash wasn't being accepted. I check now. That was the one time I didn't have my credit card.
1
@Barbara: Have you heard of the phrase "disparate impact?" It's not a random 7% or 19% who are affected by this.
5
Thanks for this article. I don't know all the ins and outs of the issues yet, but I laud the NY Times for broaching an important discussion that I'm sure most people were not even thinking about. Specifically, whatever policies shake out of it, I have the feeling many were just going along with yet another Silicon Valley-style "nudge" that may or may not ultimately help us.
6
"Forcing people to use credit cards also forces them into compromising their privacy while paradoxically making everyday exchanges feel more impersonal"
No one is forced to use credit cards, unless these shopkeepers are dragging people in off the streets and refusing to let them out without paying. One does not have to go to a particular restaurant, or any restaurant at all.
The one thing I would agree with would be a regulation insisting that business which either refuse cash or ones that are cash only post that fact on the door, so that one can decide before entering. Here in the Falls, we have a number of taverns that are cash only and surprise one with that fact after ordering.
2
You don't live in an area with only one place to buy certain necessities of life. What if that one place chooses to prohibit the use of cash? And before you say it wouldn't happen or it's just a handful of places, think how fast a little college date-rating program became the nearly ubiquitous and somewhat unscrupulous FB.
3
@Patriot That, sir, takes the slippery slope to icy blizzard conditions. All of the businesses doing this are in big cities, and going to high end grocers and restaurants does not qualify as necessities of life in my book.
If you can show one example of the situation you are describing, I will reconsider. Otherwise, you may have a great career in the GOP working on voter fraud. Your example is less extreme than theirs.
1
I would think people attempting to pay in cash would be within their rights to insist that the merchant either accept their cash or offer the service or merchandise to them without payment. All bills have written on them "THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE". So to refuse to accept it would clearly be a violation of federal law.
24
I was downtown at a Sweet Green buying a favorite salad -- but there was a problem with my debit card. The on-line bank I use was having trouble of some sort -- my card was declined and when I tried to check the balance at a nearby bank ATM it said "not available". I had $200 in cash in my purse -- my son had just paid back a loan -- but they don't take cash. It was embarrassing and weird. Everyone in the line was white and looked (of course you can't always tell) privileged -- mostly in business attire. One of the guys behind the counter, not white, and I will guess earning minimum wage, treated me for the salad. I'll just leave it there.
19
Just a thought - if there is ever another blackout like the one in 2003, good luck with cashless payments, or trying to get cash from an atm. I guess cashless works in a major urban area where the electricity never goes out. There is also the dark side to cashless - chargebacks. Perhaps this will become more of an issue as more places go cashless. As a business owner, I would think long and hard before giving middlemen banks and financial companies complete power over how business income is received. Going cashless means the business will be completely dependent on these banks and third party middlemen. At least when operating with cash, there is a degree of autonomy.
24
I know of two benefits of a cashless economy that appear to have been left out of this article and discussion. One is the sale of illegal drugs would leave a paper trail; providing a valuable tool to law enforcement. Two would be to curtail businesses that avoid paying taxes by not declaring cash income; restaurants, contractors, small retail and household services are beating the IRS and tax payers for billions of dollars each year.
3
1-assuming they also move into accepting virtual currencies like Bitcoin in parallel to going cashless, you’ll still have untraceable payments
2-places that handle cash under the table could feasibly continue to do that even if their stated policy is that they are cashless.
6
@Emma I don’t disagree on your virtual currency observation, but I do think that regulations may catch up to it. On point #2, I’m advocating the total elimination of cash. This would also end, possibly, the problem of counterfeiting.
I was waiting for some one to bring up the Drug and Tax avoidance angle to defend this mindless herd behavior.
Sure and those behemoth Credit Card evangelists are never dodging or offshoring are they ?
As always - the only thing it is going to hurt is small folk and its one more bell rung for the death of freedom.
Dream on Lemmings - the drug war wont be won when cash disappears. And the IRS wont suddenly become flush.
4
An important point to mention is that most of these cashless establishments are way to expensive for those who do have credit/debt cards.
Should NYC require them to accept cash and offer affordable healthy atternatives to Popeyes,KFC,McDonalds etc?
Some folks don't use credit cards or debit cards for other good reasons.
And as we've seen over and over again, especially lately, what starts out as something convenient just for the wealthy often enough becomes the required way of doing things for everyone else.
2
I would suggest getting rid of all cash in society. All illegal drug sales occur with cash. If all sales are recorded with a debit and credit card how would they sell illegal drugs. Illegal work activity would be recorded with payment made in cards. No longer could plumbers , electricians ask for cash. Tax receipts would increase. Banks would no longer have to handle cash transactions. Robberies would fall for no one would have cash Corrupt police officers would be brought under control. Simply state that an individual has the right to deposit all of their cash into their accounts with a maximum of $100,000 allowed per individual. Any deposit above $100,000 would be taxed at 50% so all those who had illegally high amounts of cash would pay a tax on it. There is no reason for anyone to need cash in the modern society. Payoffs to bankers by drug dealers to launder cash would end. Don’t be afraid to get rid of cash entirely.
3
Dream on
4
That's a really simplistic and naive perspective on how criminal behavior works.
3
I personally take offense to your following reference:
“the inconvenience falling to people too scattered to leave the house with a wallet being merely one of them”
Too scattered? I purposely choose to pay cash when & where I can. It’s a choice. I don’t consider myself scattered and I certainly don’t believe that people who don’t have a bank account attached to a debit or credit card as ‘scattered’.
It’s yet another plan to eliminate the time & man power needed to reconcile the till at the end of the day & walk to the bank with a cash deposit.
The ease of cashless transactions are, at their root, giving both consumer & seller less freedom to choose.
Good luck if there’s a power outage.
14
For years I bemoaned the fact that women never carry cash and insist on writing a check for a $2.75 dollar purchase. Thankfully the debit card has largely replaced the checkbook but I agree with the idea that cash is disappearing. I believe coins, starting with the penny, will go first. Then paper money starting with the larger bills. In 20 years cash will be an interesting thing of the past.
What’s cash?
1
I have a favorite place near Union Square where I’ll buy a burrito for lunch. Earlier this year it went cashless and I didn’t mind; paying with a debit card is, for me, easy and quick. Your article made me step back and look at this from a perspective other than my individual burrito purchase. The large unbanked population in this city will not become banked quickly, and full access by all is a necessity for a just society. Thank you, Ms. Bellafonte.
17
@Michael
Why not set up a atm where a person deposits cash and gets a debit card at no cost at the post office. Then a solution exists where the cashless society can move forward.
4
@Ralph Petrillo: Why further inconvenience people who have a difficult life?
4
I use credit cards for every purchase no matter how small because my bank has a generous cash back rewards benefit from which I have received several thousand dollars over the years. Yes, the bank wants to give me free money(card is no fee). Why does anyone want to use cash? All you have to do is make sure you pay monthly. For a business, cash can be time consuming:counting the take, transporting it to the bank, making change etc. As for rewarding panhandlers, I always ask them if they take credit cards. Recently one enterprising supplicant suggested I could visit the adjoining ATM!
1
I tip my doormen in cash.
2
Thank you for this important discussion
5
My employer's in-house cafeteria does not accept cash for a simple reason; it's inconvenient and costly to handle. Much easier and safer to put in place a system that delivers the revenue electronically through the banking system.
1
Which also allows your employer to know where you bank and allows the bank and your employer to track when you buy food or drink there and what you order. They then might use that information to infer things about your health status and related sensitive personal information, and to use it (themselves or by sale to 3rd party) to, say, deny you or alter your insurance coverage, make promotion or financial raise decisions, etc etc.
No thanks.
4
This is a very cogent and important comment on the insidious marginalizing of those who cannot afford to or navigate the "brave new [digital]world." One more marker of the increasingly gentrifying and exclusionary track of New York City, once a welcome home to immigrants and other strivers.
9
It is the whole point to shut out the poor. The governmentoutsources to Wall St. benefactors its duty under the constitution to provide "coinage."
The "unbanked" and "underbanked" are a gold mine for The System. As a retired resident in a rural area, I have an account at a local credit union. There is one direct deposit into the account each month, and I have quite a few other bank accounts elsewhere.
The coastal bank where I have my one VISA card, with a fairly high limit, gave poor service so one day I stopped into the credit union and asked if they would issue me a card to replace it, with the same credit limit. They expressed little interest in my other sources of considerable income, nor in my 815 credit score, basically turning me down for lack of income. I decided that the large coastal bank perhaps didn't have that bad of service after all.
Not three days later, the same local credit union sent me a junk mail letter in which they extolled the virtues of their "overdraft" protection, at $29 per item, fees not exceeding "$205 per day." I could bounce up to $800 of items, so long as I brought my account to a positive balance at least once during the month. I surmise these terms are probably worse than the local payday lender. This is a chartered credit union, engaging in typical predatory lending, which has no interest in higher-income, creditworthy borrowers.
This is the reason poor people are "unbanked." If they get "banked," they will get robbed. Cash is safer.
9
@Charles Coughlin
Too many of the poor don't handle money well and have been thrown off the rolls of banks.
Usually they have bounced too many checks and cannot make the account whole or pay the fees. They fight with the bank when this occurs and create scenes in front of other customers.
That's why they're at the grocery getting money orders.
My coffee shop, raffish and a little seedy, recently began accepting cards (a new owner wanted to "update" things).
No way will I do this - cash only, plus cash for the tip jar.
5
Last time I ate at a place which doesn’t take card (the diner on 42nd St near the Hudson), we were forced to take out cash from their ATM. Half a week later, somebody used my card information at a Home Depot, and I needed to get a new one. That’s why I prefer using apps.
The real question: What can be done, so people can get a bank card?
I also am not sure if a $15 salad from Sweetgreen is the meal of choice for people with little means
5
@D A few months back a local Mexican restaurant didn't accept my card because their 'system wasn't working' that day. The waiter at least told me this before I ordered my meal so I knew to pay in cash. But this same waiter pointed out their new stand-alone ATM. No thanks. Those stand-alone ATMs are to be avoided. Fraud Machines. Steer clear of them.
5
@D And why exactly do you think "people with little means" wouldn't want a salad from Sweet Green? Spell it out, won't you?
4
Because you trust the people who make and service the apps more than you trust the people who operate and service the ATM???
Makes no sense.
1
I’ve had clients whose businesses have been recognized as pioneers in building cashless payment systems. I think they’re doing great things. That said if I enter a store or restaurant where I can’t use cash if I choose to - which I usually do - I leave immediately. And the experience shuts things down for me with that store. It’s almost visceral. I much prefer using cash for my personal purchases, especially small to mid-sized ones. It helps my finances, it helps my psychology, it helps me be accountable (to myself), and more. If I don’t have the cash, more times than not, I don’t buy. As I said, this is a very personal preference and experience.
17
There are many advantages, none of them nefarious, for a small business to go cashless: It is incontrovertibly safer not to have cash- no trips to the bank with a bag of cash (remember Abe Lebowohl) and clearly for the staff in store as well (the silly throw-in about crime stats being down notwithstanding); you don’t need to spend significant time every day reconciling the receipts (the days are long enough as it is); and 90% of consumers use credit cards anyway because the rewards programs incentivize them to do so (what’s in your wallet, Ms. Bellafante?). And there are other distinct advantages that inure to the government coffers and thus all of society- you can’t hide your income or sales tax when you’re cashless.
The real problem is when opinion makers and legislators render judgments about issues they have no experience in or understanding of. Because if you did, you would understand that running a small business, especially in food service, is an extraordinarily difficult endeavor as it is. So before we render judgments of things we know not, let’s give some benefit of the doubt to small business owners that work their butts off, employ lots of people, and have to make business decisions just to survive.
13
I will limit my judgment to this: businesses that will not take my cash or check or which attempt to force me to use a phone app to pay them have lost my business. I rarely use checks but when I do it is for good reason. I do not pay for anything with a phone: it isn't the place to store that kind of information. If your business model doesn't have time or the margin to take my needs under consideration, clearly your business isn't where I need to spend my money.
16
Well said.
1
These debit/credit only places also shut out business from the lunchtime or after school tween and teen crowd.
4
As an American who's lived in London for the past 10 years, every time I go back home, I'm surprised at how painfully backwards America seems when it comes to payments and banking. No one here in Europe knows what a check is, and PayPal and Venmo don't exist because every bank allows you to send money to your friends electronically for free. Most northern european countries have been on the trend towards cashless payments for a while, especially places like London, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, etc. All of my cards can be frozen via a smartphone app so a wallet with just plastic in it is useless. If for whatever reason I've taken out a wad of cash, I suddenly do feel a little more vulnerable. And of course, the main focus of the article isn't on the "cashless" part but on the "inclusion" and "segregation" part. But here I would argue that the trend towards cashless is a GOOD thing, as it forces policymakers to solve the issue of banking inclusion for the underbanked. In the UK, if you don't qualify for a bank account, you can open a Post Office bank account, and receive pensions, benefits, and tax credits into it. There's no reason the US couldn't do something similar (if it had the will).
Instead of railing against technology and painting at as the bogeyman that causes poverty and segregation, policymakers should be solving the root causes of those problems.
12
Cash is KING.
9
1). Good luck in the event of a blackout or glitch or hack of any of those electronic payment methods.
2) The European countries you mention tend to pay workers more and to have much more generous public benefits, such as universal and affordable healthcare and free higher education, paid family leave, and government subsidized or free childcare; meaning many more people get a real living wage and more. Makes life easier, doesn't it. Until US stops being so "backwards" in these and other salient ways, including regarding internet and consumer privacy, it's best that we keep cash a viable option for all.
3
An excellent, thoughtful article. Cash is privacy and the United States of Corporate America wants none of that. They want consumer-citizen information as well as the proprietor's fees. As usual, they want it all. And they will get it all given the stacked Supreme Court which is where much of this future will be codified. And, Ms. Bellafante, the credit card-only transaction most certainly does provide a way for you to "tip" their employees right there on the spiffy swivel iPad. That way, you give business something else it wants: a subsidy for their labor cost. Practice digital disobedience. Resist.
4
Resist ? Can you imagine the crowd at "Sweetgreens" or anyplace like it to deny themselves ANYTHING ? For ANY reason ? Even if their actions mean losing personal freedoms ? Hardly.
And you can read plenty of good examples right here as folks justify this happening as a way to "win" the drug war or "stop" Tax evasion. Ha Ha Ha - you keep on telling yourselves that as you eat your energy wasting so-called "healthy" alternative weeds.
And the sheer arrogance exhibited by those who think its okay to force people into their so-called "Healthy" choices.
3
I leave merits or non-merits of cashless businesses to others. They are not the focus of Ms. Bellafante's concern, although she pulls up non-merits as it suits her in her status as the Times Saturday version of Sunday's Maureen Dowd.
That concern is "disproportionality," well known in the law (I teach law) although Ms. Bellafante doesn't use it. An action of business or government might be neutral on its face, adopted only for legitimate reasons, and wholly devoid of discriminatory intent. Yet, some will argue that the action is discriminatory because the adverse consequences disproportionally affect African-Americans, Hispanics, or other such groups. A valid privatization of cleaning services in a government building, for example, was challenged as disproportionally affecting Hispanics on the cleaning staff. Disproportionality prevented eminent domain from being used to build a desired turnpike entrance because the houses to be condemned were owned mainly by minorities.
Ms. Bellafante says that at one establishment "everyone behind the counter was black and everyone in front of it was white." She saw what she wanted to see. In her world there is preferred status for groups with whom she identifies so that she can make out as discrimination against those groups what are otherwise valid neutral non-discriminatory actions. Disproportionality for white males would never make her cut.
2
@Donald Nawi: Why should it? Are non-poor white males disadvantaged in some way that we should strive to level the playing field for them? It sounds like you know just enough about the law to be dangerous. (And you've been the beneficiary of disparate impact too many times.)
3
Ae we move along the path to a digital world, what happens when there is a digital clich? What happens when the next hurricane takes down the wifi? Wouldn't cash come in handy?
13
I think critics of cashlessness may be forgetting that cash also has a cash, that is often better-hidden than the clearly itemized card fees the business sees at the end of the month: slowing down customer transactions (and thus getting fewer customers); having to account for labor time to accept cash, count, and deposit it; and having to cover loses from petty theft by employees, or robbery by outsiders.
It is very easy for those costs to amount to more than 3%. Particularly for lunch-oriented restaurants that strive on quick service, the time cost of cash is not worth the $0.50 or less they save on each salad by taking cash.
3
Some of the Asian business owners in my area will charge extra (maybe 4% or a percentage equivalent to the tax) for customers who use credit card. They let the customer know and it gives them the option to switch to cash. Not a bad idea for small businesses to help them offset the cost of credit card fees.
8
I'll never forget the first time I encountered this. Wait, what? You don't accept *money*?
13
Im mostly cashless for convenience, but I do believe having the choice is extremely important. If we do not push back what corporate world is trying to impose on us, it is just going to go stronger in their demands on our money, privacy and lives. If just one option is pushed, you can guess that somebody is driving theirs agenda. Im "fighting" it back with Revolut that for example eliminates high spreads of traditional cards. But after reading this, I might try to get more cash-friendly again.
Quite distant example also comes to my mind. Disney consolidating the market under their rule costed us all Marvel series available on Netflix and it hasnt even really started yet. In the world driven by corporate interest we will have less and less options available in many ways.
3
"This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private" appears on all U.S. currency. I'm amazed that businesses are allowed to get away with not accepting cash.
13
@Paratrooper
That’s what I was about to say!
So my question is:
What does legal tender mean?
And it doesn’t apply to coins
Only paper money
Where do you find an answer?
5
Federal Law says that U.S. currency is legal tender for all debts. How can they justify refusal ...
7
Another thing to consider on the "fee question." If you have a rewards card, the charge to the vendor goes up. That "free" toaster, those airline tickets? The people you do business with are paying for all that. Which is okay if it's a big chain, but when shopping with local merchants, you really do a good deed when you use cash.
6
Oughtn't the law require that legal tender (commonly called cash) be required to be accepted in all retail establishments for transactions of $1,000 or less? And in other transactional settings where a person obligated to pay might have a reasonable desire or need to use cash?
7
What's going to happen when the lights go out, there's no electricity, the Internet connections go down? Oh. Then they'll accept cash even if it will have to be put in a bag.
13
@Jeff Robbins It already happened six years ago. As Hurricane Sandy was moving towards S.I. I took out $1k in cash just in case. My neighborhood lost power intermittently but many of the places that were open were only taking cash because their data connections were down. I didn't spend all the $1k but if power and data lines were up and down for a longer period that extra cash would have come in handy.
7
so the reasons for going cashless are hygiene (dirty money indeed), faster service, and safety from robbers? hmmmm. one of the reasons i use cash at spots where i'm likely to spend $20 or less is to lessen the number of times i use plastic, and thereby reduce the chance that my card details will be swiped by a thief. i don't input my PIN everyplace that i do choose to use plastic for the same reason.
12
@Andie I think businesses also want to save the trip to the bank to get rolls of coins, singles, fives etc then back to the bank with deposits - these are dangerous for a single worked walking alone and time consuming. Small shops are paying around $15 an hour to get good employees, so saving these stepscan add a lot of efficency. ONe way to help poor is higher wages, but higher wages motivate businesses to look for ways to streamline work. and less skimming too...
This article is so the stupidest ever. Poor people don’t eat their meals out - I know! It’s too expensive. Especially these trendy millennial restaurants. I can’t wait to write to the reporter — talk about not knowing your ‘victims.’ A ‘cashless economy’ doesn’t shut out the poor - not having cash does.
14
@Theresa Clarke: Note that she is talking about a "cashless economy." While you may not care about trendy restaurants going cashless, you most certainly will notice it when the practice spreads to businesses you frequent.
2
Regarding the security of carrying cash, the great thing about using cash in a culture where everyone else uses credit is that it's always assumed that I'm not carrying cash either. Win-win.
2
Should NY state legislators aim to ensure that the poor in our state are not underbanked? How about creating a bank specifically for the poor in the state so that the future doesn't pass them by. Not having banking services in modern society will lead to further entrenched poverty.
7
I don't think poor people are the only people who prefer to pay with cash. I've heard anecdotally that a lot of wealthy bankers pay with cash and avoid bank-issued credit cards at all costs. Similar reasoning to why drug dealers don't smoke the crack they sell, or why Facebook and Google employees don't allow their own children to use electronic devices (since social media, I would say, is a more addictive drug than crack cocaine).
3
This article correctly identifies the two main problems with this cashless craze: First, that it disproportionately effects and stigmatizes the poor or those without access to a credit or debit card, and secondly that it literally forces patrons to divulge their financial information by having to use one.
And that these new technologically-oriented business vault themselves above the realm of mere mortals by pretending to be more socially aware and health-conscious, only sticks in the throat like an avocado toast.
5
My family is in the restaurant business. We hate
credit cards because of the service fee associated
with the use of Cards. American Express is the most costly. Visa and MasterCard follows slightly behind in costly fees. We pay nearly $1500 a month for the privilege of our customers to use Credit Cards and those fees are directly withdrawn from our bank account. Thats a lot of money that could go to
hiring labor, energy cost, equipment upgrades, ect, and we have only a small margin of profitability.
Currently our bank coordinates with the Card companies (for a fee) and it’s costly.The biggest giant in the Credit Card processing business is First Data. They process two thirds of all credit cards in the world and run theirbusiness with an iron fist. Their cost to businesses like ours is twice as much as our bank. First Data gets their hooks in you by joining on with the POS systems ($2000 fee) businesses use and lengthy contracts.This explain why thousands of businesses like restaurants, night clubs, retailers and grocery chains have moved away from or forbid Credit Cards altogether.
As such, the Card companies happily give 10k to a business to use only Cards because that money will come back to them in FEES. So now many businesses put ATMs in their lobbies or nearby so customers can get cash to spend
For our business we LOVE CASH! Every dollar that isn’t going to Credit Card processing fees is a dollar saved. We are seriously considering going to a cash only business.
83
@SenDan
You will probably lose any business dining on expense accounts that you might have. But you'll save on the fees.
5
@SenDan So, a) if as you claim, many businesses are switching to cash only, there isn't an issue with the poor finding options, and b) the restaurants that, in their silicon valley-ish cluelessness, actually refuse cash, will soon go out of business by hemorrhaging money. Problem solved, no need for intervention. Or maybe they know something we don't about the costs of theft, safety, and cash handling.
6
@SenDan Try Square - much cheaper to process cards. They provide part of the system and you provide an IPad and the processing charges are quite small compared with the larger companies or banks.
6
...and add to this trend: banks who won't take cash to pay bills. I can't give cash to a Citibank teller to pay my credit card. They will only take electronic payments online, or cash payments with a specific PIN by ATM. I'd better hold on to that receipt, or my payment is more likely to be lost...
5
Hey I'm highly banked, and I won't give business to a place that doesn't take cash. That practice just turns people into slaves and leaves them open to great and greater control by banks etc.
13
1. Sweetgreen, WorkOf, Bluestone Lane, Mulberry & Vine, are not place the "underbanked" are likely to patronize...
2. Worrying that none cash business may negatively impact "spontaneous acts of generosity" had got to be a pampered white people thing ... don't waste my time.
3. Mr. Torres comment that "credit only": "amounts to intentional discrimination, because these businesses that don’t accept cash know exactly who they are keeping out.”
demonstrates astounding ignorance on more levels than can be covered in this comment.
4. If "credit only" concerns Ginia enough to spend the time and effort to research and write this article, she lives a very privileged life ...
3
Cash equals freedom. You do not heed a bank or credit score if you have cash. if the power goes out...or the computer goes down...you can still buy stuff if you have cash. The banks and corporations can't track your spending when you buy with cash. You have more control over your finances when you use cash. A cashless world is both a dumb and a dangerous idea that robs people of their freedom, independence and privacy.
15
Cash is KING!
5
@NYC Dweller
"Cash is the credit card of the poor" as a wag once said. . . .
2
If you're going to force businesses to accept cash, also force them to accept $50 and $100 bills. Arbitrarily refusing those is not acceptable, they too are legal tender as many have pointed out. In fact, introduce or reintroduce $200, $500 and $1k bills since inflation has really diminished the buying power of the $20 and I don't like how fat they make my wallet.
5
@Not Convinced Treasury should at least bring back the $500 bill which was discontinued in 1969.
https://www.moneyfactory.gov/uscurrency/denomsabove100.html
The government response shouldn't be to force businesses into accepting cash. They should find ways to move the "unbanked" and "underbanked" into the 21st century. Paper money is rapidly becoming as obsolete as movable type and buggy whips.
7
In a recent visit to NYC I was surprised to see some cash only restaurants. A very nice ramen place on E 7th and a pizza place on Cornelia A spoke with the owner of the pizza place who said the credit card fees are simply too high for a small business. So maybe the death of cash is premature.
6
The biggest criticism of the cashless concept is we are feeding fee charges to an industry that doesn’t generate jobs in the economy. Those hidden fees, like you mutual funds, are painless as they are included and not a line item. It will also kill small businesses and propel consolidation in mega corporations that are run by the bottom line.
More reason to frequent farmers markets and craft fairs, but those vendors struggle and don’t have the support of employer benefits.
Use cash, don’t leave a trail, don’t declare everything. Big corps get their tax breaks and subsidies - take yours.
89
@ellie k. The cashless concept and those industries behind it absolutely do create jobs, just not the kinds of jobs that require counting out change and making nightly deposits. There are a lot of data analysts making big bucks behind the scenes to make sense of purchase patterns recorded through the use of credit cards and other forms of on-line payment. There's an entire industry based upon it.
5
@Allison
Those jobs may create a profit for someone, but they don't create anything of value for society at large.
16
@Brad Blumenstock: It produces income for the people who do that kind of work, which then gets spent on other products and services.
6
I have my share of credit cards and could be very comfortable in a cashless establishment. But... everytime I run into one of these "temples of the future" I leave. Not going to spend my money unless I can spend my cash money if I choose.
Also, Kale has no taste.
105
@JM
You are not doing kale correctly.
10
I prefer my kale with a silent K.
12
I try to avoid cash-only businesses because I find credit cards a great convenience. No one is forced to go patronize cashless businesses. If you don't like them or have some other objection, you are free to go elsewhere.
Another tempest in a teapot brought to you by "social justice warriors."
70
@SR
You are indeed free to go elsewhere - if you are able. The whole point is that low income people have fewer and fewer choices.
71
@Cousy
The whole point is that fewer choices do not mean no choices. Lower income people have fewer choices in many areas of life. Is it our duty to make the choices of lower income people the same as those available to say, Mike Bloomberg?
8
@SR. The problem is, refusing cash is not just the personal preference of a handful of a few small businesses where we (still) have the choice of going elsewhere. It's a question of the banks' revenu stream (wow, the spell check on my computer wrote "dream" in for me :-D). And you don't need a degree in economics to know where that will take us. See Sweden. In Europe, it is the banks' stated purpose to get rid of cash and make everything paid for by card, and all other transactions done on the internet. The UK has started to cut down on the number of cash distributors by removing a percentage of them every year, France is cutting down on the number of bank branches . Etc.
8
Cash is on its way out, for many reasons. Rather than trying to stop history, why not work for.improved banking for everyone, for example postal banking?
22
@Carl M- because the private commercial banks that now almost own everything will not hear of it, and this administration is trying to get rid of the postal service.
19
@Carl M One advantage to a cashless economy would be making it much harder for drug dealers to launder their money. This is a huge problem and if cash were no longer accepted in the wider economy it would put the illegal drug industry out of business, or at least force it to come up with very creative ways to charge their customers.
1
@Sean Bruner You aren't going to stop crimminals anymore than you can stop them with gun control efforts. They will get them and the legal citizens will be their prey. The banks/government are making us their prey with a cashless sociiety. Go for Bitcoin,XRP Ripple and stash small bills not $100's or $50's. Liberalism is killing this world. They love Government control because they can't imagine personal responsibility.
1
I'll just share a quick anecdote on this.
At my favorite mid-town Mediterranean cashless lunch spot, the cashier keeps her personal credit card on hand, and will accept the cash of those who can't produce a credit card and swipe her own. (Unclear if this is a way to keep the line moving, or a minor act of civil disobedience).
69
@Aaron, Looks like this is an act of kindness but a cashier who cares about people, especially poor people.
14
@Aaron I hope she's using a rewards card and racking up some great points at no cost to her!
16
@Rebekah No doubt she is. But those rewards points are paid for by her employer, the restaurant.
4
I think cashless business thought process is to remove the possibility of theft from external and internal predators. Though a business such as Sweetgreens is hardly attempting to exclude lower incomes or lower SES individuals Though I doubt those individuals want to pay 10-15 dollars for lunch. It's a security issue more than a exclusionary tactic.
3
The intention isn’t the issue - it is exclusionary none the less.
3
@Stacy K
Assuming the exclusion is hostile, perhaps!
@Stacy K Paying higher wasges forces businesses top be more efficient. There is nothing exlcusionary about paying NYC wafges - $15 an hour!
Another problem with the cashless economy is that t's easier to accumulate credit card debt when you aren't able to pay with cash, and as someone mentioned before, it's easier to spend more money when you aren't restricted by the amount of cash in your wallet.
Debit cards are a way around avoiding accumulating credit card debt, but as past security breaches at large retailers have shown, debit card numbers are vulnerable to identity theft and fraud too. The retailer minimizes its chances of being robbed, but consumers increase the risk of having the card numbers stolen through security breaches.
The only ones who ultimately benefit from the cashless economy are credit card issuing banks, ApplePay, GooglePay, and the business owners.
6
So ,All hospitals which I know of and their clinics do not take cash either.
Ditto for airlines and car rental agencies among other businesses.
2
@Carlyle T.- My experience is different. There was one time long ago when I did not have a credit card but had to travel anyway. I paid cash for my plane ticket, and worked out a deal with the car company by posting a small bond. You can still do that today if you call ahead. And med clinics will take your cash just fine where I live. They're not used to it, but they will.
You should move.
5
@laguna greg I paid for my first airplane trip in 1975 with cash. Eastern Airlines at first wouldn't accept it until a supervisor gave his approval.
1
Cashless payments is racism pure and simple. First time I encountered it in a sporting good store, it was so obvious that they were trying to filter out undesirable customers.
8
Was fine with checks; then I was told by retailers "Oh we don't accept checks. Only cash, credit & debit cards." Banks said "Oh use debit because it's just like cash! You can even get cash back. Isn't that wonderful?" So I was forced to get this miracle plastic thing that was just like cash. After some time retailers said "Oh no, we can't take a debit card unless you purchase at least $XX. It will cost us too much money otherwise." [Major banks actually included in their contracts with retailers that requiring a minimum purchase with a debit card was not allowed & instead of the 4-5 percent of the total sale charged when a credit card was used, the bank only charged 25-50 cents/purchase. Retailers never read, or simply ignored, that part of the contract.] Then "We charge a fee for cash back" Then "We don't give cash back."
So...now we're down to credit & debit only? Best argument I see for a USPS Bank because retailers, used to stomping their little feet, whining, and getting their way will continue to make the rules to benefit themselves & we apparently don't plan to stop enabling them.
8
Cashless transactions come with a 3-3.5% markup for the credit card company. That's the real rip-off. There should be two prices, as at some discount gasoline stations, where credit-card users pay their own fees and customers with cash do not.
41
@Jim It is WAY more than that. First a business[I have one] has to pay a monthly "fee" to be in their network, then there is a 3.5-4.5% point of sale charge, then you get a charge for the amopunt charged during the month PLUS you pay smaller fees like zip code not matching when someone moves,they call that a non compliant charge, a BATCH fee where every time you settle a batch of charges they charge you. A transaction fee of a few cents per charge, the end of the month is a disaster. IF the business has a Smart phone they should go to SQUARE> LOW fees. OR accept cash
3
@Deborah
The problem with the two-tier pricing system, as evidenced by the gas-station model you mention, is that they (a) charge you high price for cash-like debit transactions, pocketing the higher transaction and interchange fees themselves, essentially as own profits, and (b) you have to go stand in line and pay cash up front for the purchase, which most people do not find worth while, fumbling with change, etc., sometimes twice, once before the fill up and once after if pre-paid cash amount is different from the actual metered amount. Thus, most pay with plastic. That is why plastic is convenient, and let's face it, the cost of doing business is already included in merchant's price levels. So the presumed savings everyone mentions in comments here will just go to fatten merchant's bottom line, not consumer's.
2
I haven’t carried cash for years, except for a few loose dollars for the occasional “spontaneous expression of generosity” (which many cashless transactions also allow for, through one-touch tipping options). And having worked retail, I don’t blame businesses for wanting to avoid the hassle and risk, however low, of keeping a cash drawer. That being said, I appreciate that this article pointed out consequences that I hadn’t considered before. Another commenter also mentioned the problem of power outages in a cashless society, a point worth repeating.
12
To address the legal tender argument floated, read this from the Treasury. The Treasury states specifically this does not apply to businesses.
"The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."
This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy."
2
@Robert: Thanks for providing the actual text of the law. I certainly question your interpretation. On the face of it, this law says that cash must be accepted for "public charges". Paying your bill at a fast-food restaurant is certainly a "public charge". Here the word "public" is used as in "public accommodation". MacDonalds can't arbitrarily refuse to serve you. Your example of bus fares points to some inconsistencies. I believe the driver must accept pennies if pennies are legal tender. The driver must accept a $20 bill (although I'm not sure the driver needs to provide change if he doesn't have it). Many bus systems now use some form of electronic ticketing. When buying such tickets, one can always pay by cash or credit card. Yes, some businesses refuse to provide change for large denomination bills. If this is to be legal, then the 'coinage law' cited above should be amended, and the 'legal tender' statement removed from large denominations. I'm always suspicious when legal interpretations differ from clear expressions of the English language.
5
Interesting that US consumers gave up on privacy a long time ago, at some point be ready to pay the price.
Cashless businesses are no different, it is about marketing "do you want to add your email to receive your receipt?" Then they can track all your purchases, it is convinient for now but what if i your healthcare insurance company use the fact you had 150 burgers in one year as the reason of having high cholesterol level and then denied coverage? (just kidding it will never happen we know better!!)
Is the Facebook problem was not enough to wake you up, too bad...
This is why we supported the GDPR in Europe: you can be deleted and can know what a business has on you (easely).
2
These businesses do not want poor people sitting at their tables. It's much the same reason why places like East Hampton and Rumson NJ have very expensive housing and no HUD units. Poor people keep out. No mystery here.
5
“It is easier to spend more than you intend when you are paying for your lunch with a credit card, to get the fizzy grapefruit drink when, really, you’d be fine with water. When cash is renounced you carry less of it, or maybe even none of it. And so you are not as prone to certain spontaneous acts of generosity — to put a few dollars in a tip jar where workers are underpaid or give money to a homeless person on a cold night on your way home from work.”
When you deal in cash, you spend less? Or you spend more? I’m confused.
1
An opinion piece masquerading as journalism.
6
@John
Yes, absolutely agree. I will eagerly await the follow-up journalistic article in which homeless folks are interviewed about which stores refuse to serve them because they have only cash and not credit.
1
I just took a $20 bill from my wallet. It still says, "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private". Is there some odd interpretation of this statement that allows businesses not to accept cash?
8
There is a time and place for government regulation, but this is not one of them. The benefits of cashless to businesses are significant: reduced theft, improved customer and employee safety, easy accounting and reduced cash handling headaches. It should be up to the business if it wants accept cash. There will still be many options for cash users, who can, if they want, get prepaid cash/debit cards from a variety of vendors.
Still, the concern for the poor here is valid and deserves examination. What I find profoundly annoying, however, are the privacy-obsessed feeling it is their privilege to endanger customers and employees because they don't want marketers knowing they purchased a hummus wrap. That is the real elitism going on here, not the perfectly reasonable neo-meets-paleo, techy food ethos that the article derides.
2
I once saw a man attempt to pay for his portion of a restaurant bill with a personal check. It was one of the strangest things I've ever seen, since I'd never seen anybody try that before (and haven't since) and of course the man was told he couldn't pay for his meal with a personal check.
It seems weird to me that paying with cash at a restaurant is now coming to be regarded by some as just as strange as paying by personal check. Aversion to paying by cash, I think, began for many people when withdrawing money from an ATM suddenly required payment of a fee.
If you're under 30, believe it or not but at one time in America you could withdraw money from pretty much any ATM machine without paying a fee.
3
@AR. Yes, the banks have been working towards this for years.
2
Richie Torres should mind his own business and stop micromanaging retail business. We have competition and a business can choose to accept cash and entice customers who prefer that.
2
@Tariffman- you'll keep saying that loudly until the private banks who run this whole scam will start telling you what you can and can't spend your "money" on, by just not letting you do it electronically.
No corporation should have that kind of control over anyone.
2
I'd happily support a law that required businesses of a certain size to accept cash... as long as it also banned "cash only" rules. There's nothing that tells me to run away from a business faster than a "cash only" sign, which in 2018, indicates an shady business owner, willing to cut corners, too cheap to swallow a minimal card fee (likely more than made up for by poor cash accounting and lost business from people without cash) who is extremely likely to be running much of their business under the table.
10
I will never give up cash because I have always tried to "beware the Ids of March." In the last 10 years I have been in 3 situations in different parts of the country where the power has been out due to natural disasters (ice, hurricane, and flood) for up to or more than a week each time. It was impossible to use credit so cash was the ONLY thing accepted. With wild fires in CA, hurricanes in TX and FL, and floods almost everywhere, don't expect technology to be of much assistance when you need the most basic of supplies like food. Those who didn't have cash during the situations I mentioned had to borrow from those who did.
25
Few employees at these shops even know how to handle cash. For any transaction that has coins in it they hand you the bills (or a receipt) and try to nest the coins on top of the paper before handing it all back to you at once. Fully more than 50% of the time the coins go scattering to the floor or the pavement outside your vehicle window.
2
@JKvam OMG, yes. I close my hand and say "give me the coins first, please."
To eliminate Cash would be a disaster in this country.
7
The strongest objection to cashless businesses is that it's stupid. The second-strongest is that it makes everything we do trackable and therefore tracked. And the third-strongest, but still very strong, is that it makes life harder for the poor or for anyone who isn't acceptable to the banking system.
Three strikes and you're out. Let's hope these laws pass.
9
@Meta-Nihilist
why not let the market decide?
@vs72356. Because the "free" market is a myth.
4
How is this even legal? As others have stated, dollar bills state on their face that "this note is legal tender for all debts public and private." Don't establishments HAVE to accept it? I won't patronize any restaurants that don't.
4
@Elizabeth Exchanging money for goods doesn't generally incur a debt. They have the right to refuse any money if you are both free to walk away from the transaction.
2
@Candace Which is why the article specifically mentions fast-casual places. If you are at a sit-down restaurant where you eat before you pay, you have incurred and thus cash must be accepted.
3
@Candace- legally any purchase you make is considered a "debt" until you pay it, all the way up to the cash register.
1
What is the savings on robbery insurance, and internal theft if you go cashless? The peace of mind knowing it is less likely for you and yours to look down a shotgun in the face?
It's the fear of robbery's gone bad that causes businesses to go cashless. It takes no time to count out a till. You have to leave money in the drawer and the register open at closing so they won't break the register. But then you have to do the cash drop. Everybody knows you do it. It's easy to be set up. Back in the day when you had beat cops, my father would close for the day when they came by, and would walk him to the bank a block away.
4
@Lawrence
non of that is as important as some poor dude not being able to buy curried cauliflower with cash
The article ignores the many benefits of going without cash. No cash means less employee theft, less robberies, no more runs to the bank to get change, and no more counting cash at the end of the night. These are the reasons why so many newer restaurants are going cashless.
Frankly when I see a cash only restaurant I can only assume the real reason is either tax evasion or money laundering.
1
@Lawrence
Robbery and theft will take different forms in a cashless economy, they will not disappear.
Discrimination against the poor is a huge problem with this, but the biggest problem presented by the lack of ability to use cash is that it completely strips away your ability to maintain your privacy.
If we lived in a world where people still understood the importance of privacy, at all, still valued it, at all, companies would not stand a chance of ever implementing a cashless system because even those who prefer to pay by card would refuse to patronize businesses that don't take cash. There would be a mass refusal to participate in anything that contributes to our further enslavement.
But of course, we don't live in that world, and people long ago proved themselves gullible enough to be sucked in by claims of "convenience" and "savings" when it comes to electronic payments, store loyalty programs, and the like. So the cash will disappear, and only when it's far too late and people start to suffer the completely forseeable, and undesireable, consequences, will the backlash begin. And of course, the blame will be placed on the companies that have ended up running our cashless society, not on the human beings that made the choice to go along with it way back when there was still a choice to be made.
15
@Kristin what are the foreseeable consequences?
@John- let's start a list:
All your spending becomes trackable, and is therefore tracked.
The bank sells all the information with anyone who will buy it, including your health insco.
They make a deal with the bank to stop you ever buying any more pizza because your cholesterol is too high.
Then the bank tell you that you can only put your savings in the accounts or investments they say.
If you are late on any bill, they just "pay it for you", with asking or telling you.
If you have a dispute over a charge, and they don't agree, you have no control over what happens.
There is no form of appeal now for these problems, and the situation is likely to get worse for consumers but not for the banks. Conservatives will make sure of it.
You really want banks to have that much control over you? Especially after 08?
Everybody, please keep adding if you can.
7
My first encounter with a cashless restaurant was in Amsterdam. I had never heard of such a thing. I chatted with the owner and he went this route because of crime: his restaurant was robbed fairly frequently and he was tired of it. Being cashless made him less of a target.
12
@Ginger- ... but it didn't stop it.
4
This policy is discriminatory to the portion of the population that is "underbanked" in the age of banking that charges for checking accounts with a low balance, including most larger banks. ( My mom, a thoroughly middle-class person was just informed by Citizens Bank that the free Senior accounts will no longer be free, but will be $10/month without a large average balance). An hourly worker would be foolish to pay a fee for an account, pay for checks, and potentially pay enormous overdraft fees if they miscalculate. It's very expensive to be poor.
We disenfranchise AGAIN people of lower economic status, many people of color. That is why Philadelphia City Councilman Bill Greenlee has introduced a bill forbidding retail establishments from banning cash transactions. I see trendy restaurants and no cash policies as the thin edge of the wedge to a society that further marginalizes the less educated and less affluent.
13
@Marnie
This is the true issue at hand, not cashless restaurants. For anyone in Europe it sounds completely ridiculous that people are being charged for checking accounts and that there are people who cant afford to have them and use a card. You can get a checking account here with a debit card for free, occasionaly you can run into a deal where you get ~20$ just for setting up the account. Depositing and withdrawing money is also free. Maybe the Times should write an article on updating the banking system instead.
9
@Adam- many credit unions offer the same deal. the option is available to many people.
2
@laguna greg
Do they have other downsides that keep them from being viable options?
1
Even electronic money is green, buyers who show up with cash are bringing the green too. No self respecting merchant or creditor should turn away anyone bringing the green. Don't tell me how to pay my bills, that's my business and my choice.
6
A block full of busy restaurants might be a prime spot for panhandling or robbery. If almost no one brings cash there, it will not be.
Unfortunately, many things inconvenience the poor. Having to keep either a bank account or to buy disposable "gift" cards is an inconvenience, but probably is not that high on the list. The risk of having the place you are working at get robbed for its cash probably ranks higher.
3
@Alan, those disposable cards are not just an inconvenience, they carry fees both for purchase and for checking a balance. There's a sizeable penalty if you have to depend on them to pay your bills.
Bank accounts also involve fees in many cases -- that is if you can open a bank account. A SSN or taxpayer ID number is required. Many institutions require good credit. You have to have the cash necessary to open an account, and you have to have transactions (such as direct deposit) or pay a monthly fee.
My household includes a young man, my son's best friend from high school, who aged out of foster care. When he moved in with us he had no job, no credit history, and no bank account. His grandfather fronted him the cash to open an account at the credit union and I took him to the CU and helped him open the account. It took a while for him to get used to a bank account but he's now handling his money well (has a job with regular direct deposits into his account). How many others in his position who have to deal with the "inconvenience" because they don't know how to open and maintain a bank account?
8
Reduction of crime, panhandling and tax evasion versus loss of privacy and dependence on internet. Personally, I’ve avoided using cash for the last 20 years, due to convenience and recoverability of loss. On the otherhand, do you want a potential employer or background checker to know about all your purchases? Privacy versus safety and convenience - there’s got to be a solution to this dilemma.
3
It's the clueless author of this piece who has an elevated sense of himself. There's a reason businesses like this are going cashless, and it's not snobbery. To put it simply, my small town barbecue joint cannot afford to be robbed. It's a one man show, and the hardworking owner doesn't want to install an expensive security system or pay to replace a broken window and a busted door. He doesn't want a local druggie, of whom my town has all too many, to hold him up. I don't blame the man, and I'm grateful that my struggling downtown has his thriving, cashless business rather than yet another derelict storefront.
25
@Kaleberg
The only reason for security is cash? The point of this article is to point out that such a business is catering only to those with the ability to function in such a cashless ecosystem. Your use of the ubiquitous "druggie" menace lurking around every corner, lying in wait to break into such a place, thus creating another derelict storefront is indicative of the attitude that seeks to create such a stratified society this type of cashless establishment represents. Perhaps, forces like economic stratification have caused the very struggles your downtown is facing and maybe gentrification is not the only answer to the "druggie" problem you are concerned about.
8
@Kaleberg: And what about the security of the person whose credit card number is now vulnerable? Because my spouse travels for work, he frequently deals with credit card fraud. For him, there's no other option but to use credit, but at home I prefer to use cash for everyday purchases.
13
@Allison In my entire life, I've had my credit and debit card numbers stolen several times, but not once has it ever actually resulted in an actual loss... because credit cards protect you against fraud. I'd much rather have a credit card "compromised" than a wallet full of cash stolen forever (which *has* happened to me before).
6
I don't understand. I thought it was federal law that cash must be accepted to settle "all debts, public and private". It is already as illegal to accept cash as it is to destroy it.
3
@Steve it is indeed accepted by the bank or credit card company who holds it and transacts it. The card is a voucher for that cash. Does amazon accept hard cash? Credit/debit can be redeemed for cash. If you lose hard cash, you cannot call the bank to have it replaced.
Exchanging money for goods doesn't generally incur a debt. They have the right to refuse any money if you are both free to walk away from the transaction. You can totally have a cashless business.
@Steve It's not federal law. It's simply some words printed on our currency, as an assurance from the government that the note you're carrying is legit. There's nothing about that phrase, and there's no federal law whatsoever, that requires a private business or individual to accept currency as a form of payment.
The paper currency in my wallet contains the statement “This note is legal tender for all debts public and private.” The Constitution gives Congress the power to coin money, and this privilege is now interpreted to give the Federal government authority over money. So it seems these proposed laws are unnecessary, and the actions of merchants that refuse to accept cash payments are likely illegal.
It SHOULD be illegal to refuse to accept cash. Refusal to accept cash is a tax on the most economically vulnerable members of society.
It even goes beyond this. The companies that provide alternative payment systems charge a fee for their services. The most important players are the credit card companies, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, etc. To pay the fee, merchants are NOT reimbursed a full dollar for every dollar charged on a card. The same is true for the new electronic services. That’s why your bank can afford to give cardholders “rebates” on card usage. Merchants raise their prices to pay the fees, which effectively constitutes a high, regressive, tax on the poor.
There’s something very wrong with this picture.
14
When businesses justify cashless as a defense against crime, they're talking about employee theft, not "urban crime." It's a legitimate concern. Also, cashless makes accounting easier and the underpaid managers don't have to make a midnight run to the bank to make a deposit. Grocery stores & the local CVS should continue to take cash as they serve a diverse group of clients, but other businesses should be able to take the payments that work best for them. If you're down to your last $20 are you really going to spend it on charred cauliflower?
7
@Jen- if you want to, you should be able to. and PS, cashless sales will not deter employee theft or embezzlement.
2
Why isn't this already illegal? No business should be able to refuse cash.
11
@Brad Blumenstock There's no federal law against refusing cash. The words printed on money are not a law or requirement imposed on anyone, they are just an assurance from the government that the money is good.
1
There's potentially a big privacy, and false-accusation, problem with businesses that don't take cash. I was once ruled out as a suspect in a murder case (the actual killer was caught and imprisoned) because the police knew I was out of town and had taken the train (so no car available for a side trip) that night -- without needing to ask me. This was because I'd used a credit card. Myself and all other recent tenants of the victim, who was a landlord, were being interviewed.
I was relieved, until I realized that my last electronic transaction before leaving town would have put me down the block from the crime the night that everyone except the police and killer thought it had happened (when the killer burned down the house a few days later). I'd simply bought
a newspaper with a debit card when I was caught cashless.
So the police, in a city famous for valuing civil liberties, knew exactly where I was both nights, without me having broken any laws. So pay cash, and insist on your right to pay cash. False accusations are particularly a problem in poor communities, say if that cashless restaurant were to be robbed. Incidentally, the police had plenty of non-electronic evidence on the killer in this case.
7
The reporter writes: "The strongest objection relates to the ways in which rejecting physical currency plays out as a bias toward the poor, advancing segregation in retail environments."
The strongest objection is that citizens are increasingly having control of every aspect of their lives taken over by technology, which in turn is generally run by large corporations.
It does affect the poor as well, since they don't have access to that system.
But that doesn't change the fact that something much more basic is happening, losing control over one's life.
20
Crime, panhandling, tax evasion are cut back by eliminating cash. How do other countries, like Denmark and China handle the under-banked poor?
@walkman
We should look to corrupt China for good business practices?!?
11
@walkman- begging and petty crime have not been reduced in any of these places by going cashless, nor has the illicit drug trade.
1
I don't view physical currency as a social justice issue. Generally speaking, cash transactions mostly help black markets deals and other shady business practices. When does anyone buy handmade furniture with cash? If you're buying big ticket items in cash, I'm immediately suspicious. A wad of $100 dollar bills is sketchy.
That said, I have a more practical reason for forcing businesses to accept physical currency. We need the transnational competency and infrastructure in the event of a long emergency.
Imagine the Kessler Effect knocks out the global satellite infrastructure. Those old phone line card readers might still work but Apple Square is toast. Employees will be hand writing card numbers or, more likely, businesses will remain closed until the grid is repaired.
The scenario doesn't seem so bad for a short localized emergency. No avocado toast for you today. No big deal. However, things become problematic when you begin to consider essential services like gas or grocery stores. Businesses need to maintain the basic infrastructure of cash in order to prevent larger societal breakdowns.
I'm not saying you need a till in every drawer. However, you should have some means of accepting and processing physical currency. You won't know you've lost that capability until exactly when you need it the most.
15
@Andy
I think this is a good point but with current infrastructure you have backup power, redundancy and network resiliency, so you'd need a massive hit to cause huge disruption and you might find cashless dining won't be at the top of the list of problems. Gas stations and grocery stores generally still all seem to take cash, so we're ok for now. (But where are you going to get it if the ATM is offline? Would banks be open? Would they have enough bills on hand?)
As for writing down card numbers -- that's what the raised embossed digits on the cards are for plus the old fashioned "knuckle-busters". Do businesses still have those? (How many times have you heard the excuse that the computer is down, you have to pay cash? Bust out the card imprinter!)
3
@Andy, correct. It doesn't even have to be the Kessler Effect. The Northridge quake knocked out all phone lines in the surrounding area. No ATMs or card readers available. Our local supermarket opened but was cash only.
If worst comes to worst there is always the option of the shoebox at the register. But most places won't be able to make change unless the customers have some.
There is also another old fashioned option. How many of us still carry a checkbook?
2
This article reads like a grumpy op-ed. The problem of denying service to people who are unable to obtain bank accounts and credit cards is huge--but unfortunately the author eschews these details in favor of mocking trendy health food stores. Why is it relevant to issues of economic access if a place serves sweet potato hummus toast? More stats on which businesses don't take cash, and the increase in cashless businesses over the past few years; perspectives from people who are able to use only cash; perspectives from the owners of these businesses: all this information would strengthen the author's important argument, but instead the focus is on condescendingly insulting startup food chains. It's not a problem if a restaurant wants to sell fizzy grapefruit juice and somebody wants to buy it; it is a problem if they are unable to do so because of lack of accessibility.
7
@Tori This article and others like it are just social engineering propaganda meant to incite hatred against upper-middle-class people who dine on fine food that the masses can't afford.
Elites stir up class warfare to keep the lower classes from ganging up on them -- just the old "divide and conquer" tactic, works every time.
If the journalist who wrote this article really had been interested in exposing systemic problems for the purpose of shedding light on them and getting people interested in solving them, this article would have had an entirely different focus such as the one you described.
1
@Tori- Because it's all an issue of economic and social class, and the attitude and the attendant hypocrisy are a part of it. do you really need this explained?
1
You don't have to be poor to hate this trend and the underlying arrogance it evinces. Remember, dollar bills state on their face that "this note is legal tender for all debts public and private." It is time for these businesses to get with the program.
138
@Cazanoma Why is it arrogant to be cards-only? Some busy businesses may do it to keep long lunch lines moving quickly. Customers counting out coins and cashiers making change slows down the line.
2
@Ophelia- because it has become an issue of both economic and social class. Does this really need to be explained?
17
@laguna greg "I do not think that word means what you think it means."
Cashless is discriminatory, not arrogant.
It is motivated by profit, not by a sense of being better than the cash-burdened.
7
It has been many years since airlines accepted cash for an in- flight snack. I find that absurd - it was always a little fun when the flight attendants would say “any one have change for a 20?”
Thank you for this article - wry tone and keeps our eyes open about America’s caste system.
3
@Kathryn Payne: Man, do I feel old! I recall a time when a snack or meal was included with the price of every ticket, even for short flights. Now, I always pack a bit of food and an empty water bottle to fill up before I board.
4
Remember the day when it was the other way around? Credit cards carried a fee for businesses, and there were some that gave you a discount for using cash.
1
1) poor people can't afford to pay $20 bucks at Sweet Green's whether it's cash or square. So they are already excluded from the electronic payments only places because of cost. To include poor people should we have a subsidized menu funded by tax payers? No.
2) places that cater to the poor have lower prices and take cash anyways and always will because they know their customers don't have access to electronic payments. Btw, NYC's limited food truck permitting regime is a huge tax on poor immigrants. Reform that.
3)even if this passed, it's probably a violent of the first amendment for businesses. What sort of payment you accept or do not accept is a matter of free speech. This does not apply to the consumer since they are not forced to pay electronic since they can find a different establishment.
6
@Robert
What part of "legal tender for all debts public and private" is so hard to understand? If anything, the "free speech" argument should be the other way around, given that the Supreme Court has ruled that money is equivalent to speech.
2
@Brad Blumenstock
As I stated below, and confirmed by the Treasury of the United States, that language does not apply to Debt. Let's then cast aside the law for a second and think of morality. How is this moral to dictate what payments a business accepts?
1
@Brad Blumenstock
Ask that question to the Treasury. BTW - the operating word is DEBT.
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Currency/Pages/legal-tender.aspx
The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."
This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.
Curious to know how our trendy cashless society will deal with the purchase of their illegal drugs.
Imagine if all those who love their cocaine and meth had to pay with a credit or debit card? Let me know how that works out for them. Especially those doing it on the down low!
1
@Mark S.
Venmo, baby, venmo. All my suppliers take Venmo.
2
Do the machines at these restaurants accept walmart cashcards? That's the main 'bank' of the poor that I know of.
3
The City of Takoma Park in Maryland will not accept cash payments.
Supply houses in iffy area will only sell to established accounts, or money order, no personal checks.
You don't handle cash, you don't expose your employees to being shot. Explain that to someone's family.
Some places I frequent add 4% for plastic.
In managing property I've been in the position where I played bank, accepting paychecks, and soc. sec. checks and cashing them out for tenants who did not have bank accounts. The local liquor store got 5-7%. I had to deposit them in a bank branch in the hood. I took the manager aside (she was black) and explained the situation of my seniors, and that the fees were food off their table. That was a Christian woman. Never had a problem afterward at her branch.
Poor people can't afford checking accounts that ding them for fees eight different ways.
14
Paying with cash for many things allows my family to live within a budget. The pocket change goes into a jar for later use.
It feels safer than walking about with a wad of plastic in my billfold.
Also, we ask for and sometimes receive a small discount for paying in cash, usually 2-3%. You have to ask for a discount for paying in cash. This does not work at large stores, but in indy tea shops, some gas stations, a jewellery store I recently went to for watch repair, etc. it is a nice way to save a bit.
My family saves at least $200-$300 per year doing this on average.
One still has to pay the taxes on items, just not the charge card bank fees which some places will reimburse back to you.
5
I think it is arrogant and foolish of a business not to accept cash, but the "legal tender" argument is not apt. The federal law involved in that notation merely means that nationwide, US currency issued by the government is legal payment; it does not, however, mean that it must be accepted by businesses as Congress does not have the power to so require.
States, on the other hand, can make such requirements as part of their ability to regulate business transactions within their states. California, for example, has some such requirements, as in one example, paying rent landlords must accept cash. Massachusetts also has broader requirements.
3
I'm sure the main benefit is preventing theft, if you have worked in a restaurant you'll understand.
8
@Walter McCarthy
Not accepting cash doesn't prevent theft in general, just theft of cash. Cards open up a whole new avenue for theft.
40
@Brad Blumenstock Except that credit card fraud doesn't get weapons pointed at employees and customers. Also, credit card fraud should be handled separately by new laws, technologies, and practices. The solution is not to force businesses to accept antediluvian payment methods. Or maybe they should be forced to accept a jarful of pennies?
2
If these precious new age vendors really want to return to pre-industrial times, they would forego money altogether and revert to barter. How fun and hip would that be, with Etsy crafters, urban farmers, and the rascally local petty thieves haggling over trade in hard goods for virtuous food stuffs.
5
Given that credit card transactions cost businesses 2 to 3%, I wonder why any business would not except cash?
4
Because there are also costs to using cash. You have to make sure you have change, count out the drawer at the end of the night, make bank deposits. Plus you have to worry about your employees stealing from you, which is a huge problem for retail businesses.
Some facts that would have been helpful here: what percentage of places in New York are cashless? What is the average transaction amount at these places? I will bet the answer is less than one percent and higher than average compared to places accepting cash.
Im sure its been said here, but if you are poor - indeed poor enough to not have plastic connected to a checking account - you should not be eating out or buying bespoke furniture.
To be sure, the vast majority of businesses still accept cash. Reward them with your business if you oppose cashless places. And if you have no card at a fancy cashless cafe, ask yourself - should i be buying a three-dollar coffee?
9
@Max Paying with cash does not always mean that someone is down and out, it may be a very intentional act to try and preserve personal privacy.
40
@Susan of course - but the crux of the argument, and the proposed legislation banning the practice, centers around the idea that it excludes the poorest New Yorkers.
Those who prefer to use cash have a virtually unlimited number of places to use it. If one insists on cash, why patronize a cashless establishment?
I haven't noticed this trend up here yet, but maybe it's because I don't shop in places that are sufficiently fashionable. I prefer to use cash most of the time, because I hate getting big credit card bills at the end of the month. Being required to use credit or debit cards would make me avoid a store. And, yes, I do think it is unfair to those with poor credit histories.
12
In whose favor are payment disputes settled? Surely VISA has done studies and knows the answer. Why do I suspect these cashless transactions will always be settled in favor of Visa?
11
My mama always told me to keep some cash in my pocket in case of emergencies. What good is that if no one takes cash?
5
Oh boy! I have extra strong feelings about this. A cashless system is absolutely ridiculous--and discriminatory. I LIKE the privacy and anonymity of CASH. I don't want to be tracked by some computer. Moreover, what will happen to the poor and the homeless, people with nothing? There are so many so-called technological "advances" going that I am totally opposed to--like self-driving cars and no cash. Nobody asked for my vote on this and I vote NO resoundingly!
52
@Thomas the poor and the homeless will undoubtedly be forced to pay less for their salad bowl at a place across the street that accepts cash payments. Just this scenario occurred before the fall of Rome.
3
This article caused me to grab my wallet and pull out a dollar bill to confirm that it still included the phrase: "THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE". (The all-caps are in the original, but I'm yelling too!)
What gives? I can totally see "no checks" and even "sorry we don't take credit cards for transactions under $5" or whatever, but the federal government has weighed in on this, and not accepting *legal*tender* is not supposed to be an option.
Also on the topic of "what gives"... what will beggars do when we're fully cashless. I'm sure those lefty/liberal/green people you describe in Dumbo will earnestly tell themselves, "I would have given her something but no one has cash any more."
16
Maybe if the lamebrains learned how to exist in today's society and get with its assorted programs they wouldn't be poor. Are they still traveling by horse and buggy?
3
@MIKEinNYC
For the most part the education you receive from an inner city school will be substandard in all ways.
It has nothing to do with intelligence.
Actually poor people can't afford carriage rides.
They walk.
5
You don't need to call a whole class of society names. You shouldn't generalize about individuals you know nothing about. Have some respect at least.
5
This is not racism or discrimination (but this piece should have been in the opinion section). These cashless payments are a problem for people who work under the table and illegals who are paid in cash. (Please do an article on the cash economy in New York and how much is lost in taxes -- and made up for by everyone else). Even those with untaxed cash income can buy a prepaid debit card and eat at these places. It doesn't cost much and everything has a price, whether paid up front or built into the cost of goods or services. (ATMs have fees, bank accounts have fees or pay no interest, businesses build in the cost of handling, transporting and using cash into their prices, etc.) You could do an article about the "scam" of cash-only places with an ATM at the door that charges a massive fee with kickbacks to the proprietor. These are found in poor areas, isn't that practice discriminatory and racist?
Spare me the budgeting with cash argument and the tip jar. I feel the only valid point here is made in passing about privacy.
16
All are free to patronize businesses of their choice.
Don’t like plastic? Take your business to an establishment that accepts cash.
Note that those on welfare or similar benefits can use their EBT cards in many locations.
I quite understand why businesses in crime-ridden areas prefer not to have a lot of cash on hand.
4
Is this a opinion piece? It sure reads that way. I don’t disagree with the writer but I worry about the responsibility of reporting facts when the bias against Visa et al is so palpable.
5
Umm... this article seems to run into the is-aught problem head long and the weird tone is like something from a Buzzfeed article.
I see the problem begin pointed out and the need to address it, but this is pretty one sided. There are lot of reasons things things are going cashless, isn't in fact, at least not exclusivity, and evil capitalist plot; cash is inconvenient to a lot of people: you need to get from a physical location most of the time, you may not have enough on you at any given moment and I personally find it much easier to keep track of my spending using no cash. It's pretty clear why businesses like these don't want to accept it and it's not to drive anyone away: cash slows them down, it requires cashiers to do extra repetitive tasks and having it on site is a liability.
Rather than force businesses to accept cash how about making it easier for people to get access to cashless banking and payment services; paper money was once only issued by private banks, perhaps a better response would be a government option.
4
@Matt
You may or may not have a point, but an intersting point that illustrates something you missed..."...cash slows them down, it requires cashiers to do extra repetitive tasks and having it on site is a liability."
Ahh, the poor businesses and their so burdened cashiers (perhaps we should change that to "cardiers"?), having to contend with all of those nasty inconveniences. And, after all, they are there to make things convenient for themselves and their poorly trained workers, no? There is, of course, no concern of any type expressed for customers and what THEY might prefer. It is precisely attitudes like that - seen every where one shops these days it seems - illustrates why people often feel so frustrated when dining, shopping, etc. The customer is at the bottom of the heap.
8
@Matt
As someone who handles both cash and credit transactions, and regularly pays for things in cash, I can say unequivocally that the idea that cash slows down transactions is simply false. As to the "liability" issue, it's simply dishonest to not acknowledge how much liability (in terms of identity theft and hacking of financial information) the average person is exposed to by the use of credit cards and digital transactions.
2
A pair of independent young businesspeople repurposed an old gas station on the edge of Koreatown as a coffee shop. Perfect, you’d say! Independent not chain, save an existing building. But, it’s credit card only. Either they didn’t think it through, or it’s purposeful discrimination against the majority of poor people in the neighborhood in favor of the young college grads slowly (not so slowly) gentrifying the area.
13
Excellent piece. I have also noticed, looking over the shoulders of people in front of me paying digitally, that most of them skip the Tips screen (no one will know!), taking away that spare change or dollar bill from the (mostly) underpaid worker behind the counter.
14
@alexmann
Yeah, I hate those terminals they flip toward you to enter a tip. It's super aggressive, trying to shame you into tipping when no tip is deserved. It's especially annoying when the Porsche driving shop owner does it.
4
It has elevated prices, which does also hurt those with less to begin with, who use cash. Those of us who do use credit cards a lot also tend to get a little bit of that back - those who pay cash, without a discount, get nothing. The process costs more, period.
AS long as our dollars are legal currency, no, shops cannot refuse to take cash in payment. If they have to be reminded with a local law, so be it.
13
@cheryl incorrect, there is no federal law governing acceptance of cash as payment. States and localities can't make laws regarding the federal currency.
2
@MN Nice
You got me to look - you're right. Or maybe partly right. Found this explanation:
'The pertinent portion of law that applies . . . the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."
This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, ...[businesses] may refuse to accept large denomination currency ... as a matter of policy.
2
How many of the working poor (who are somehow assumed not to have bank accounts) would want to be paying $15 for a chia salad or what have you, while sitting next to the author of this piece? There are entirely valid reasons for going cashless that have nothing to do with making poorer people have a hard time. Cash is dirtier than your kitchen sink and businesses spend and inordinate time handling it, ultimately raising expenses for the customer.
Not getting enough tips? How about a living wage and an economy that doesn’t rely on gratuity for the provision of services? Homeless not getting enough handouts? How about reforming a system that pushes the mentally ill and hard of luck onto the streets in the first place?
34
@Davo Yes, in a perfect world there would be no poor and no homeless and everyone would make a living wage. Since we aren't even close to being there, how about a little empathy and compassion for those getting left further and further behind?
31
@Davo
Since the issues you bring up aren't going to be dealt with anytime soon, perhaps we should just continue to use cash. Also, the idea that handling cash is more expensive than taking cards could only be proposed by someone who isn't responsible for paying the transaction fees related to processing them.
5
So the small business owner cedes some profit to the bank for the transaction fees. But how much time does the business owner save every day from not having to reconcile cash?
Plus as this absurdly subjective article states, people are more likely to spend more when using cashless payments, so that would mean increased profits for the business owner over a 'cash' transaction.
There seem to be enough upsides to the business owner here.
7
@MitchP
Thanks for inadvertently revealing the real driver of these trends, inducing the consumer to spend money they don't actually have.
1
The family bakery where I shop recently raised their prices. The owner explained that the raise was triggered by the increased cost of accepting credit cards after decades of being cash only. I noticed a similar increase in the cost of my morning coffee after the local bodega started taking plastic. It seems that even we cash payers are being forced to pay the plastic tax.
56
@Gravesender
Ask for a discount for paying in cash. I would.
3
It minimizes the risk of armed robbery. The Chinese place or the fried food place in the “hood” operates behind an inch of plexi. That’s not a good look for the more upscale fast casual place.
7
@Third.coast
What are the actual stats on such armed robberies? Is this really a reasonable fear?
2
I think the real savings comes from reducing employee theft of cash, which is a much bigger problem than armed robbery.
I remember when places used to offer you a free meal or item if you didn’t get a receipt from the cashier. This wasn’t done because people care about receipts, but to make sure the cashier actually entered the transaction into the register instead of just pocketing the cash.
1
I get the sentiment of this legislation
I understand the problem - I really do, there’s a lot unfair in this world seemingly
But retail is not a utility
I just really don’t think the added burden of dealing with cash should be something forced on a business
People without credit cards can go somewhere else - they can. And businesses can cater to them
But, cmon, it’s already a losing game to start a small retail operation in high rent New York
Stop destroying innovation and entrepreneurship with regulations that are ridiculous
In the same way this paper criticizes the changing landscape of New York storefronts from local to chains, that same paper espouses regulatory burdens that further hurt small scale operators
Just let it go - retail is different; there is nothing affordable at Chanel, but I’m not going to legislate my way to being able to shop there
19
Good. I’ve got plenty of good lactic but prefer cash as a budgeting maneuver. When it’s gone I stop spending. Six dollars for a soda and candy bar is different when you have to break a ten and don’t get much change back. Little things make a difference
33
All of our departments of social services should be working on producing debit cards for their clients to use while they're panhandling. Passersby can quickly choose the sums -- which might range from twenty-five cents up through, say, a few dollars.
Then, it would be nice if the street people were also provided with tasteful cards that said, "Thank you," if the handout -- fingerpoke? -- was super generous.
I guess I don't understand, if the poorest countries on Earth are able to become cashless (mostly in Africa), how come the "richest" country on Earth, can't make a go of it?
17
@MarkKA
That’s a really good question that I hope the author addresses in a new article. What are the barriers here and how do other countries make it work?
1
@MarkKA
I think there's a fallacy here. The countries you refer to aren't actually "cashless," they've just been more open to innovation in this regard precisely because their cash economies were already underdeveloped.
2
On all our paper currency appears the legend: "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private". When did that cease to mean that such currency must be accepted in payment? While it may be reasonable for, say, an auto dealership to refuse payment for a $50K car with a wheelbarrowful of loose small bills it's not reasonable for a lunch place to be refusing cash simply because they'd rather not handle any. Too bad, Sweetgreen. It's legal tender. If we need legislation to enforce this then we should have it.
59
@SML
Last year I bought a new car for cash. I joked that I could put on by Amex. Quickly I was told that they only take up to $2000.00 because of the percent Amex takes.
8
@SML according to the Fed, the "all debts public or private" doesn't generally apply to vendors.
"This statute [Section 31 U.S.C. 5103] means that all United States money as identified above is a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law which says otherwise."
https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/currency_12772.htm
3
Cashless businesses are a disaster from a privacy standpoint and cannot function in the event of outages at telecom carriers and credit card networks, or other widespread service disruptions during natural disasters. Many also use "cloud" point of sale software that can't function without an Internet connection and is incapable of printing a paper receipt. Every item you ever buy or eat becomes another data point to be mined by Big Tech, and your children are deprived of the opportunity to learn the basics of saving or the ability to buy a slice of pizza on their own.
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@Aaron G.I have already experienced not being able to get pizza at a Sbarro when the electronic cash crashed! I was hungry, offered to give the clerk cash but he was clueless how to figure it out.
11
@Aaron G.
Or to do the tedious little bit of arithmetic they were never taught,to count and make change during a purchase. One more skill like "penmanship" tossed into the dubious dustbin of history.
15
Cash registers won’t work if power and telecomm are out. They operate as inventory and receipt control devices besides recording sales. Also security won’t work. My assumption is the store stays closed if power is out.
5
I wish the writer had asked these businesses WHY they refuse cash. I can understand giving people the option to pay different ways, but frankly, refusing to accept our national currency seems illegal. Or should be illegal.
Personally, I object most on the basis that I hate the fact that corporations are amassing such incredible power, partly due to the amount of information they can collect on individual people. Facebook, the internet providers, the credit card companies, etc -- they have incredible access to information on us, and there are not many laws being made or enforced on what they can do with this information.
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I would strongly object to enriching credit card companies with every purchase I make. This practice also harms workers by denying them cash tips. As a result they lose a fraction of all their tips to the credit card companies. It is not cool and it should not be trendy.
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@Alexandra Hamilt
Credit card transactions have always charged the service to the business accepting the charge.
Your strong objection is many years too late.
5
This doesn’t mean that she can’t try and do something about it as a matter of personal conscience.
7
@Rea Tarrand And do you not realize the business increases the price to what the consumer pays to cover that charge! And you should know the fee goes by transaction volume, so it is an advantage for big corps, sort of like Amazon and the USPS. Why do they prohibit a business from offering a cash discount?
5
Yes! And I am also waiting for someone to do the math on the energy costs of this "cashless" world. Can't you imagine the climate cost of all those servers humming somewhere to monitor all those electronic transactions? Plus generating statements, etc. etc. And the plastic cards, the gadgets, and then printing costs for accounting purposes...
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@T L de Lantsheere
...and the day of reckoning when the power goes out!
7
@T L de Lantsheere
Umm...even the cash transactions are tracked in those servers (if you’re talking about legal ones). Paying with cash is not going to eliminate electronic accounting unless you’re proposing a total black market economy (even then once the numbers get high enough the servers get used again only this time they’re secret ones on a Caribbean island).
3
Have a look at Africa — specifically South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Ivory Coast. Mobile transactions are the norm and it’s lifting people out of extreme poverty, not oppressing them. There are other newer tech methods (which we don’t have yet here) to pay in a cashless environment aside from credit cards.
16
I am a brick and mortar business owner in NYC. When I started doing business 22 years ago we were cash only. We remained plastic free until about 2016. In order to remain competitive we had conform to newer methods of payment that many seem to consider faster, more convenient, cleaner and lets be honest, cooler. It amazes me that people do not see all of this "convenience" for what it really is, a corporate cash grab on an massive scale at the direct expense of the consumer. The cost to the merchant for accepting credit or debit at the point of sale equates to roughly 3% of the total sale. To give this some scale, a small independent operator in NYC food service often struggles to achieve a 10% margin, so giving almost 1/3 of their revenue to a bank or similar merchant services provider is simply not sustainable unless the costs are passed on to the consumer. I would also argue that using credit cards is not faster or cleaner. It is slower than a simple cash transaction at the point of sale (which is not dependent on a device or a wifi signal to execute). A digital transaction also has a carbon footprint that is easy to overlook, it requires a lot of power to run all of those devices and the networks that support them. Not accepting cash, our countries legal tender, personifies classism, racism and corporate greed.
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@AJ Great points. Also, let's not forget what's happening in Sweden where they have gone so far cashless that they are essentially turning over their "public" currency to the private banking corporations that are not as subject to democratic regulatory controls (Wells Fargo, anyone?!?).
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/03/being-cash-free-puts-us-at-risk-of-attack-swedes-turn-against-cashlessness
In addition, the regulators fear what happens when there is an electricity outage, especially if the outage is the result of sabotage/espionage. Cash offers a level of protection and predictability. Plastic is only as secure as the Internet . . . gulp.
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@AJExcellent! Why was this not pointed out in the article?Big fail.
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@AJ
For most anyone under 70, the convenience of cash is worth 3% as 3% is virtually nothing. Raise your prices 3%. On a $10 item, that's $0.30. Even on a $100 item, that's $3. It's essentially unnoticeable from a consumer point of view.
It definitely does not personify "classism, racism and corporate greed." It's merely convenience. When I'm at my job for 10+ hours per day, I simply don't have time to stop by ATMs and pull out money. Oh, and I think you may have forgotten that if you don't use your banks, you're charged WAY more than 3% as pretty much no matter the amount you're pulling out, you're charged at least $2-$5.
The public has spoken, cashless payments are far more convenient and it takes away the prospect of being a target for criminal behavior. Frankly, that's a win for everyone and if it bumps up payments by 3%, well... that's average inflation anyway, so seems like we're all good.
9
Trust me; the poor are not eating at Sweetgreen. It’s too expensive. If McDonalds goes cashless, that will be a problem. Also cashless businesses avoid the age old problem of slippage, (money disappearing from the till) and encourage the payment of sales tax. Think it through. Also no one has to patronize either kind of establishment. It’s called free will.
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@Meighan Corbett I used to work at McDonalds. They would count out the cash register they gave you at the start of your shift, then count it out at the end of your shift. If there were any problems, you would be in trouble, and obviously this could lead to the loss of your job. So I don't think slippage is a good excuse to go cashless.
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@Meighan Corbett
"It’s called free will."
It's only "free will" if a person has a choice between actions-which is part of the focus of this article.
Gina B.:
Nice,light satire on what we previously called "yuppies" before they were re-branded with a different marketing moniker!
8
Having credit card companies take 3% of ever transaction is not a long term solution. Neither are banknotes and coins very convenient.
The reason cash is cheap is that the Government for its production and distribution (except for ATM fees if you pay them).
The ultimate solution is for the Federal Government to support and fund a means of electronic payment the same way they do for cash.
4
Sure. They could run it like the Post Office.
No thanks.
The main problem is that with cashless systems, we are introducing a middleman (at least one, probably several) into the system : the banks, credit card companies, various tech companies. The name of the game is for tech and banking corporations to insinuate their way into all aspects of daily life. This will come at a price, of course. Cashless may be convenient for some, but the end result will be higher prices for everyone. If you feel obligated to support the international banking/tech industry, go ahead and go cashless.
45
Cash has middle persons. You just do not connect to them. Those huge metal trucks with armed drivers that stop at each Burger King - you think they do it as a public service? What do you think the bank does with the bag of cash and coin dropped off by courier or a business? You think they do it for nothing? Turning pieces of paper and metal into digits on a bank statement costs money.
6
So much for 'Cash is King'. Growing up in Brooklyn, none of the parents had credit cards, maybe an A&S store card.
Some store owners might have taken a check from a regular customer, but that was about it. 'Cash only, No credit ' or the occasional, 'In God We Trust, All Others, Pay Cash.'
12
As a small business owner - I resent that MasterCard and Visa get to take 3% off the top of almost every transaction. I can't afford to take credit cards for small transactions and I'm amazed at how many people don't have even a couple of bucks in cash to pay for small items.
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@Bec
I don't own a small business,but I consciously patronize them (rather than national chainstores and restaurants) and always pay cash. I even keep a sizable lump of cash available in case I want to make a purchase larger than lunch. The proprietors are mindful of that 3% and are grateful. And I like transactions with a committed salesman.
32
@Bec I NEVER carry cash and won't patronize a business that doesn't accept cards or Apple Pay. Period.
Having to get, carry, and have cash is a hassle. As a consumer, I would rather have a business raise prices by a measly 3% (wow, a whole 9 cents more on a $3 purchase!) instead of having to deal with cash.
23
3% is insane! In the EU the amount banks can earn on each transaction are limited at the source. They then add their fees on top of that but it seems to have worked well as a downward pressure on this fee. For example with the bank ING here in Spain I pay 0.5% on most transactions. Spain doesn't have this but I know at least France and Denmark even have had public/private solutions for getting people to adopt plastic while limiting the cost to merchants and therefore customers (Carte Bleu/Dankort).
I realize this isn't the main thrust of the article but government action to get these fees to come down would seem a reasonable goal in (almost) everyone's interest. As higher and higher percentages of purchases are by card these exorbitant fees should be seen as essentially taxes going toward private companies.
17
"this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private," is printed on all US currency. shouldn't this supercede the practice of a "cash only" merchant?
37
Absolute refusal to accept maybe. Adding a cash handling surcharge and having a “special” slow, moving register is likely not.
1
@Dave in West Midwood there is no federal law requiring businesses to accept cash so while it is valid for payment, it is at the sole discretion of business owners (or individuals for that matter). A business or individual can decide to only accept cards, Venmo, Square, Apple Pay, or checks - totally up to them. The consumer can opt to patronize them or not.
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@Dave in West Midwood
"Legal" does not equal "Required".
4
Thanks for this. It is an issue as well of generations. Do you really want your twelve or fourteen year old, much less your six or eight year old to have their own debit or credit card, but do you want them to be able to buy their own ice cream cone, get into a movie theatre on their own, or have enough money to pick up some milk from the grocery store?
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Rather than hold back the cashless trend, wouldn't it be better for the city to work with banks to facilitate low-balance account debit cards?
14
@J - It is far easier to overspend when it's only a swipe or a touch. It encourages debt and it's easy to lose track of money spent with the ensuing fees. Many living on the financial margins, the "underbanked," can't afford to pay those fees.
Look at the text on paper currency - for all debts, public or private. Not accepting cash may be illegal.
36
@Justathot there is no federal law requiring the acceptance of cash. It is legal tender but businesses or individuals may set their own policies on the form of payment they prefer.
2
@Justathot
Not accepting cash being less than legal may depend upon the viewpoints of legislators, local, state and ultimately federal, as they bear the responsibility.
1
Options are good for consumers. Remember these companies only care about profits. We don’t have to read long pages of lawyer theatrical work to get cash meanwhile credit card companies do make you press the agreement button (or sign) to get their cards.
26
Cash allows businesses, restaurants included, to avoid paying taxes. Taxes that fund education and social programs poor people rely upon.
8
Taxes that take almost 9% of low wage restaurant workers hard earned tips. I have nothing against taxes, I pay way more than my share but I do not have to barely survive on minimum wage in a tip credit state!
12
The credit card companies are leading the cheer for a "cashless"society.They make their money by profiting from millions of credit card transactions.Economists decry the millions in credit card debt on the balance sheet of ordinary people who can never repay their debts and yet the credit card companies encourage even more debt.We do have a choice and can boycott businesses who will not take cash.By using credit cards we are exposed to fraud with the card and for having our information stolen by hackers.It may be too high a price to pay for using plastic only!
56
At this time, they boycott us. I refuse to use my card in retail outlets for privacy reasons. I use it to draw cash from ATMs.
17
What a touching and thorough analysis. Here in Sweden, it's difficult to buy anything with cash, really. Homeless people selling newspapers are sometimes even equipped with wireless credit card readers. Otherwise people just couldn't pay and wouldn't buy. Another group that's affected are the elderly.
65
Thank you for this glimpse. A recent NYT report on “cashless Sweden” made your country sound like it had reached a sort of currency-free Utopia. It also took a couple of swipes at an elder generation that resists getting with the program. I was sure that couldn’t be true, and your comment provides nuance.
23
One need look no further about shutting out the poor than in ... Venezuela. Debit transactions abound, if you have a bank account. But for the poor, they are left out. And to get money changed, they must pay a 30% fee. The poor pay more.
29
Same issue with Uber/Lyft and regular taxis.
Taxis accept cash, and are a crucial form of transportation for cash users. I still take cabs periodically with the desperate hope that they stick around.
49
@Cousy
Uber has frozen my account because someone in another state used my Amex account to charge a very expensive ride, which Amex declined to pay for.
So, try contacting Uber to get a resolution to this (or any) problem, and also consider the issue of “crime protection” that credit cards supposedly provide. I am not out the money, but I am shut out of the no-cash service, which is a weird kind of victimization, one that is possible for all credit card users.
17