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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: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 12 2019, @08:13PM
It doesn't bother you that the bank is taking something like 3% on every transaction that happens? That's why some small merchants give a 3%-ish discount for paying cash, because they'd have to give that to the bank. And the banks and credit card companies used to penalize the merchants who did that until Dodd-Frank prevented them from punishing the merchants. THOSE are the guys you happily give your 3% to? If the banks didn't take a cut on every transaction, I would be more likely to agree with your position.