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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: 2, Interesting) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday March 12 2019, @01:58PM
We love cash, don't we? I use it as much as possible. I built the Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park (NYC). And I run that one on a cash only basis. Cash business is great business. And another one is the Casino business. Very tough business to be in, but incredible amounts of cash coming in there. You have to be careful about the counting. Find some guys that wear yarmulkes, they're very good with money. And if you play your cards right you can go very far with that one. Ka ching!!