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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 the 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 the 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.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Pino P on Tuesday March 12 2019, @01:52PM (7 children)
In the case of a 50 cent order at a yard sale (occasional private sale of used goods outside the seller's residence), I'm interested in your reasoning as to how two 0.25 USD coins cost more to handle than a 30 cent transaction fee charged by the bank. Or is it just the customers who ask "can you break a twenty?"
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday March 12 2019, @04:27PM (2 children)
"can you break a twenty?"
I'm not that advanced a magician.
But I can make it vanish, you interested?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Wednesday March 13 2019, @06:09AM (1 child)
Of course. Will a cheque for a ten and two cheques for fives be OK?
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday March 13 2019, @07:19AM
That may be a convoluted variation of vanishing, I guess.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Wednesday March 13 2019, @08:48AM (3 children)
It's upto the person selling to decide if it's worth the hassle to take the cash. Some people think it is, and that's fine, nobody's stopping them.
But some people think it's not worth the hassle to take cash. That's their choice, and you want to stop them.
You then get into the "my freedom to pay cash vs your freedom to not have to take cash" balance.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Wednesday March 13 2019, @03:33PM (2 children)
What suggestion do cashless shopkeepers make for marginalized shoppers to pay cashless shopkeepers for goods and services, particularly once "somewhere else" also becomes cashless?
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Wednesday March 13 2019, @06:07PM (1 child)
As with many things, it's a balance of rights.
One solution for your problem would be the government operating some form of pre-paid system - you pay the government $50, they give you a $50 card, you take that to stores and spend.
You could either fund this from taxation (socialism! OH NOES!!!), or have the government charge a convienience fee.
The government would not be able to discriminate, it would be open to anyone with legal tender.
This way the shop keeper is not forced to do something
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 13 2019, @10:19PM
I'm sure everyone would feel better with a clear set of rules for doing business than having the state directly involved.