# The Payment Choice Act of 2021: What It Means for Cash Payments

This bill would require most retail stores to accept cash as payment for purchases under $2,000. Right now, some businesses—especially newer ones like food delivery services, online retailers with physical pickup locations, or tech-forward stores—have started refusing cash entirely and only accepting credit cards, debit cards, or digital payments. This bill would make that illegal. If you walk into a store that accepts in-person payments, you'd have the legal right to pay with cash, and the store couldn't charge you extra for using cash instead of a card.

The law would apply to any business that sells goods or services to the public at a physical location, whether they're selling items in person or accepting payment for online orders at a store location. However, there are a few situations where stores could still refuse cash. If their payment system temporarily breaks down or they don't have enough change on hand, that's allowed. Stores could also offer customers a machine that converts cash into prepaid cards instead of accepting cash directly, as long as the machine is free to use, requires no personal information, and lets customers get their money back in cash anytime.

For the first five years after the law takes effect, stores wouldn't have to accept $100 bills or larger denominations, though they'd still need to accept $1, $5, $10, $20, and $50 bills. After five years, the Treasury Secretary would decide whether to require acceptance of larger bills. If a store violates these rules, they could face fines of up to $2,500 for a first offense and $5,000 for repeat violations, plus they'd have to pay actual damages to customers who were harmed. The bill also wouldn't override state or local laws that already provide stronger cash protections.

Payment Choice Act of 2021

Payne, Donald M.

Payment Choice Act of 2021 This bill requires retail businesses to accept cash as a form of payment for sales in amounts less than $2,000, and it prohibits them from charging cash-paying customers a higher price compared to customers not paying with cash. Such businesses are those engaged in the business of selling or offering goods or services at retail to the public that accept in-person payments at a physical location. The bill provides for enforcement through preventative relief and civil penalties.