Cashless Establishments Prohibited in New York City

Beginning November 19^th, it will be unlawful for a food store or a retail establishment to refuse to accept payment in cash from consumers, unless payment is in:

• Cash bills denominated above $20
• Cash for any telephone, mail, or internet-based transaction, unless the payment for such transaction takes place on the premises of the food store or retail establishment

These proposed rules would add presumptions that:

• a food store or retail establishment is in violation of the prohibition on cashless establishments if it displays a sign representing that it does not accept payment in cash from consumers
• an employee or agent of such food store or retail establishment represents that it does not accept cash.
• a food store or retail establishment is in violation of the prohibition on cashless establishments if it displays a sign representing that it charges a higher price for consumers who pay with cash rather than through a cashless transaction
• if any employee or agent of such food store or retail establishment represents that it charges a higher price to consumers who pay for commodities in cash.

These presumptions allow the Department of Consumer Affairs (DOA) to enforce the cashless establishments’ law without conducting test purchases of commodities using cash, and of course issue additional fines.

There is no warning for first-time offenders. The fine schedule is as follows:

It does seem baffling that establishments in the US can refuse legal tender. Further, there are so many people who for various reasons do not have credit or debit cards and only use cash. Therefore, it is understandable that NYC would want to prohibit cashless only establishments. The issue with the law as written is that by creating an entire level of “presumptions” with identical fine structure, this is another costly “nickel and dime” tax on small businesses at a time when they can ill afford it.

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