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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) by DannyB on Wednesday March 13 2019, @05:29PM
Yes I've realized the $1,000 tied up for 0%, but I think I simply don't 'perceive' it that way. I also realize that is not an option for many people. And I was one of them decades ago.
If CCs with annual fees are too expensive, then I would probably, just thinking out loud, stick to cash, checks and a debit card.
But . . . one thing we have learned about debit cards! Have two of them. We have our 'real' checking account, and NEVER use its debit card except at an ATM. Then we have our 'online' debit card (that name is historical before we had so many CCs). If we do use somthing that needs a debit card and won't take credit card we use the 'online' debit card. This means we maintain two checking accounts. I think that 'online' one is set up with a checking account fee, because we only keep a couple hundred dollars in it unless we know we need to put more in it for an upcoming debit-card-only purchase. I don't know how it is set up, because I don't take care of the bills. I earn it, she spends it. :-) But seriously she takes care of all that and I don't worry about it.
WHY have a special debit card? Because the 'online' one is the one that might get 'hacked' or have money stolen out of it. When this happens, your account might be frozen for ten days. But you do get your money back. We had this happen. But we were okay because we had credit cards we could buy groceries and fuel with.
It was speculation about Visa imposing requirements to accept credit cards. I'm happy to be proved wrong and correctly informed.
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?