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posted by takyon on Tuesday March 12 2019, @07:17AM   Printer-friendly
from the cashless-grab dept.

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

Sorry Amazon: Philadelphia bans cashless stores

This week, Philadelphia's mayor signed a bill that would ban cashless retail stores, according to The Morning Call. The move makes Philadelphia the first major city to require that brick-and-mortar retail stores accept cash. Besides Philadelphia, Massachusetts has required that retailers accept cash since 1978, according to CBS.

The law takes effect July 1, and it will not apply to stores like Costco that require a membership, nor will it apply to parking garages or lots, or to hotels or rental car companies that require a credit or debit card as security for future charges, according to theĀ Wall Street Journal. Retailers caught refusing cash can be fined up to $2,000.

Amazon, whose new Amazon Go stores are cashless and queue-less, reportedly pushed back against the new law, asking for an exemption. According to theĀ WSJ, Philadelphia lawmakers said that Amazon could work around the law under the exemption for stores that require a membership to shop there, but Amazon told the city that a Prime membership is not required to shop at Amazon Go stores, so its options are limited.


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Pino P on Tuesday March 12 2019, @01:43PM

    by Pino P (4721) on Tuesday March 12 2019, @01:43PM (#813235) Journal

    There are pre-pay credit or debit cards

    Prepaid Visa cards in grocery stores charge a 10 percent surcharge to load them with cash. In addition, the merchant must pay a substantial monthly fee plus 30 cents per transaction plus 3 percent of the total.

    the same way there are bank accounts for those with zero credit

    How old does the account holder have to be, and how much of a monthly fee does the bank charge the account holder for both sending and receiving money? How practical would it be for, say, a 14-year-old to accept credit cards for mowing lawns or babysitting?

    Scrap cash and all you have to do is provide a card to anyone who asks

    At no charge?

    those who are already "black-market" (e.g. cash-in-hand prostitutes)

    First we'd have to find a way to make prostitutes no longer black-market.

    Mugging is now pointless, because get no cash

    "Your card and PIN or your life"

    and you can't even sell the phone on.

    But a mugger can prevent the victim from calling the police now that the victim has lost possession of his or her cell phone and pay phone operators have removed the pay phones on which the victim would have once called 911.

    Starting Score:    1  point
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