refusing to accept cash

In the USA there is no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services.

(1) A bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills.
(2) Movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.
(3) Apartment complexes often refuse to accept cash for rent
(4) Some restaurants have refused to accept cash, often causing controversy.

I don't know if any stores refuse cash. If there are such stores, I imagine that they are very high end.

Danish retailers would like to stop taking cash. It seems that so few purchases are made with cash that cash registers, security, and insurance costs are much higher than the potential revenue. But they want a law passed so that they are not sued.

Quote: Pacomartin

Does it bother that you that a small european country won't take cash at its stores? It may not bode anything for America's future.

There is a war on cash going on. You used to pay your Discover bill at Sears in cash, but no more. I have to wonder if the banks are going the same way as that is a poor man's money laundering.

I took some flights recently. Credit card only for the in-flight service things.

It doesn't bother me - I hardly carry any cash on me anymore, and more and more of my smaller purchases go on the card.

I still don't use the card for the vending machines at work. Yes, it is an option. 10 cents higher prices for that, too.

I don't like gas stations that charge more for credit purchases. You would think they don't understand the savings of not having to deal with cash, like those danish stores, and being able to move people faster with pay at the pump, and people not having to wait in line to pay, fumble with their cash, and change.

If you want your transactions to resolve to the penny level in Canada, no cash. The penny is gone so all cash transactons get rounded to the nearest nickel.

Quote: Dalex64

I took some flights recently. Credit card only for the in-flight service things.

It doesn't bother me - I hardly carry any cash on me anymore, and more and more of my smaller purchases go on the card.

I still don't use the card for the vending machines at work. Yes, it is an option. 10 cents higher prices for that, too.

I don't like gas stations that charge more for credit purchases. You would think they don't understand the savings of not having to deal with cash, like those danish stores, and being able to move people faster with pay at the pump, and people not having to wait in line to pay, fumble with their cash, and change.

If you want your transactions to resolve to the penny level in Canada, no cash. The penny is gone so all cash transactons get rounded to the nearest nickel.

Credit payments can erase the margin a gas station makes and the higher the gas cost the worse it is.

Actually I call my debit card "cash."

I really don't know how much people use cash anymore. Living in Las Vegas I believe it is a lot more common to use cash than other places because the whole gambling economy requires cash. Many years from now when the regulators allow electronic tranactions for gambling Las Vegas will change substantially.

Are there federal statutes that some institutions must accept cash and coins? The DMV by my house doesn't. I am not sure about the Social Security office. Who is required by law to take all currency?

Quote: DRich

I really don't know how much people use cash anymore. Living in Las Vegas I believe it is a lot more common to use cash than other places because the whole gambling economy requires cash. Many years from now when the regulators allow electronic tranactions for gambling Las Vegas will change substantially.

I don't think it will be too long now. Pay by phone is catching on, so soon there won't even be "cards". However, I think this will have a largely negative effect on Las Vegas gambling. Handling a bucket of coins, or a strap of cash is a tactile, visceral experience that feeds the decision to gamble. This why "live" E-Poker tables with virtual chips and cards failed. "Cashing" a ticket that increases an electronic balance on a card is very different, and not as pleasurable as getting a hand pay. Anonymity is important too, so I don't think cash will lose its status in Las Vegas.

Quote: AZDuffman

There is a war on cash going on. You used to pay your Discover bill at Sears in cash, but no more. I have to wonder if the banks are going the same way as that is a poor man's money laundering.

If it goes as well as the war on drugs, terrorism, Christmas, homelessness and poverty, we'll be seeing cash make a big come back in the next few years.

Governments are evidently deciding that it's better to know every transaction we make. It is certainly true that there are ways to avoid taxes sometimes if you pay cash.

I sometimes try to get a deal with cash. Sometimes the merchant doesn't want to bother with it; older guys with small operations, service immediately rendered, are your best bet.

If I pay with a credit card, I will make sure I get at least 4 weeks to pay, up to 6 weeks. Thus I pay for almost nothing with a check.

Quote: Pacomartin

...Denmark and Sweden...

When Sweden plays Denmark, the score sheet reads SWE-DEN. The remaining letters are DEN-MARK.