Author: Karen Zraick / Source: New York Times
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In a sign of the growing backlash against “cashless” stores around the country, the City of Philadelphia will require retailers to accept legal tender starting this summer.
Retail outlets that have stopped accepting cash say it is faster and easier for their employees to process digital payments.
But critics say the practice discriminates against people without bank accounts or credit cards, or who simply prefer to pay cash.City Councilman Bill Greenlee, a co-sponsor of the bill, said it would ensure fairness as residents complete everyday transactions.
“It just seemed to me unfair that I could walk into a coffee shop right across from City Hall, and I had a credit card and could get a cup of coffee. And the person behind me, who had United States currency, could not,” he said in a phone interview on Thursday.
The new law, signed by Mayor Jim Kenney last week, takes effect on July 1 and could lead to fines of up to $2,000 on businesses that do not take cash.
But many transactions will be exempt, including those at parking lots and garages; businesses that sell goods through a membership model; rentals that require security deposits; online, telephone or mail-in transactions; and goods sold exclusively to employees.
The bill amends the city’s Fair Practices Ordinance, which is administered by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. Mike Dunn, a spokesman for the city, said on Thursday that the commission would have to set the penalties before the bill takes effect.
The State of New Jersey and the cities of New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington are considering similar bills. Dan Bryan, a spokesman for Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey — where both chambers of the legislature have passed the bill — declined to comment on Thursday about whether Mr. Murphy would sign the bill.
In Massachusetts, the state has had a little-known law on the books since 1978 that requires businesses…
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