Monday, February 3, 2020
New York City, like Philadelphia and San Francisco, affirmed consumers’ right to choose cash as a payment option when they shop at stores and restaurants. The initiative filed as Int. No. 1281-A and titled Prohibiting food stores and retail establishments from refusing to accept payment in cash, won a 43-to-3 vote by New York City Council on Jan. 23, 2020, more than a year after being introduced by councilmember Ritchie D. Torres, D-15th district, and co-sponsors on Nov. 28, 2018.
When passed, the local law will amend the city’s administrative code and assess penalties of up to $1,500 to retail and hospitality establishments that refuse to accept cash. The NYCC’s Committee on Consumer Affairs and Business Licensing approved the bill; council members expect New York mayor Bill DeBlasio to sign it into law.
“This bill prohibits food and retail establishments from refusing to accept cash from consumers,” the authors wrote. “It also prohibits establishments from charging cash-paying consumers a higher price than cash-less consumers.”
Mandated cash acceptance pertains only to on-site commerce; it excludes ecommerce, phone and mail orders, the authors stated. While merchants may decline bills that exceed $20 in value, merchants that convert cash into prepaid cards are prohibited from charging fees or imposing minimums or expiration dates on prepaid card products. When cash-to-prepaid devices malfunction, “the establishment must accept cash, and shall have a sign stating such on or immediately adjacent to the cash-conversion device,” according to the bill.
Leaders from the Northeast ATM Association and National ATM Council Inc. thanked Torres and council co-sponsors for their support, noting that further efforts are underway to address a growing digital divide and ensure that all U.S. citizens can participate in a digital economy.
Danny Frank, Northeast ATM Association director, observed that hundreds of thousands of consumers are underserved by banks. “We greatly appreciate Ritchie Torres and the New York City Council for spearheading this law, which protects the fundamental rights and privacy of unbanked and underbanked consumers,” he stated.
Jim Shrayef, principal at Everything ATM and president of the Northeast ATM Association, thanked supporters, Danny Frank and the National ATM Council for efforts to get the bill passed. He called the idea that cash is tied to money laundering “ludicrous” and emphasized that cash users are average people who want to pay as they go for a beer or ice cream without racking up debt, exposing personal data or using electronic media.
“When banks take a piece of every transaction, they take away our privacy and freedom. Bank fees hurt merchants and consumers,” Shrayef said. “Merchants raise prices, consumers end up paying more and we all lose control of our lives.”
A meeting held Jan. 30, 2020, by the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, examined the impact of digitalization on U.S. consumers and business owners. Hosted by the Task Force on Financial Technology, the meeting, dubbed Is Cash Still King? Reviewing the Rise of Mobile Payments, featured a single-panel hearing of the following expert witnesses: Deyanira Del Rio, co-executive director, New Economy Project; Usman Ahmed, head of global public policy, PayPal; Aaron Klein, fellow, Economic Studies and Policy Director, Center on Regulation and Markets, Brookings Institute; Christina Tetreault, senior policy counsel, Consumer Reports; and Kim Ford, executive director, U.S. Faster Payments Council.
“There are now more ways than ever to make and receive payments,” wrote FSC staff in opening statements. “Yet, despite an increase in mobile banking and electronic payment technologies being adopted (i.e., digital wallets and credit and debit card payments), cash is still a popular payment method and financial instrument nationally and internationally. Based on the number of notes in circulation within the United States, estimated to be around $44 billion, 1 the demand for cash has steadily grown for the past 20 years.”
Bruce Renard, executive director of the National ATM Council, actively supports the Payment Choice Act of 2019 (H.R. 2650), a bill introduced and sponsored by Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., that would prohibit on-premise businesses from refusing cash payments or charging higher prices to cash-paying customers. Renard noted the bill has garnered broad bipartisan support and 34 co-sponsors.
“The United States has the most complex payments system in the world, which is why we were the last to implement EMV,” Renard said. “While electronic payments innovations are important, cash provides a vital safety net during power failures and natural emergencies, and there are good reasons for maintaining cash as an option to pay.”
“In my opinion, there’s something anti-American about banning or heavily discouraging cash, especially at baseball games, bistros and other all-American venues,” said George Sarantopoulos, CEO at Access One Solutions and chair of the National ATM Council, a nonprofit association. “A business that says, ‘no cash allowed’ is really saying ‘poor and working class people are not welcome here.’”
NAC is actively recruiting supporters at local and national levels to join the growing coalition of HR 2650 supporters. For additional information, contact mail@natmc.org. 
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