Cash is king: bipartisan bill seeks to preserve cash payment rights

Cash is king, and a bipartisan pair of senators want to keep it that way

Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, and Senator Kevin Kramer, a Republican from North Dakota, introduced legislation that would ensure people can

pay in cash when purchasing goods or services from a brick and mortar business

The Payment Choice Act would prohibit businesses from refusing cash payments up to $500

and give consumers the right to use paper currency, even if a business says it only accepts electronic payments

It mirrors legislation that failed to pass Congress in 2019 and 2023

The bill would also prohibit businesses from charging a fee to customers paying in cash

It's simple. If you're open for business in America, you should take U.S. dollars, Fetterman said in a statement

Cash is still legal tender in the United States, despite some businesses' exclusive acceptance of electronic payments

forcing the use of credit and debit cards or imposing premium prices on goods and services

paid for with cash limits consumer choice. Americans should have the option of using

cards or cash, but they should be the ones who make that choice, Kramer said

The bill provides a few exceptions, including if a business has a device that converts cash

into prepaid cards without a fee or if the business doesn't have enough cash to make change

Despite a decline in cash payments during the last few years, this demographic still represents nearly 20 percent of all payments in the U.S. economy, a press release from Senator Fetterman's office states

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Lauren Keenan. If you want more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit SIN.com