Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Cashless in Manhattan: But is it Legal?
I read an article in the Wall Street Journal where a restaurant in Manhattan adopted a credit-card only policy. The owner of the restaurant would no longer accept cash stating, "the convenience and security afforded by going cashless are well worth the added cost of the transaction fees imposed by card-issuing banks." Of course, a legal question has arised. The article refers to Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, which states, "US coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues." There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or organization must accept currency or coins for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise.
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This in my opinion is a very, very bad idea. With all the credit card debt in America, people should not be charging their dinner, that unless they can afford it.
ReplyDeleteI dont think its fair to not give someone a choice of what tender they choose but i guess they do have the choice to not eat at that place...i rarely have cash on me but i use my debit card not a credit card so its like cash not interest....didi the article mention if debit was ok at the restraunt? Thatd be an interesting arguement if they said no...
ReplyDeleteI think this is owner is breaking new ground. I for one use my debit/credit card for over 95% of my purchases and rarely carry over $20. When many small businesses are running from large fees and petitioning to congress to legislate credit card companies. Also as someone who ran a busy resturant staying up late counting cash @3am. I was a prime target for a robbery. Working for a convienence store company what theif would rob a store if there was no cash to take. I like this move.
ReplyDeleteI personally use credit cards for all purchases. I can not remember the last time I paid cash at a restaurant ,however I believe a law suit, if filed against this business for economic discrimination could be successful . It would not be hard to argue in court that not excepting cash excludes a segment of society.
ReplyDeleteI have seen this work both ways, and both ways appear to be a major inconvenience to most consumers.
ReplyDeleteThere are restaurants which demand payment of cash only, such as "Under The Pier" in Edgely/Levittown. Many of my friends as well as my husband and I will no longer frequent this restaurant.
Recently I went to obtain a Motorcycle Learner's Permit. I found that all transactions payable to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation must be made via check or money order. They do not accept credit card nor cash (of all things.)
PENNDOT should not fall under the "private business" label as it is a state authority.
It seems as though more and more companies and governmental authorities alike are able to create and enforce payment methods much to the chagrin of the private individual!
I agree with the comment about credit card debt being such a huge problem among most americans. Therefore, this system of payment only encourages the debt issue. Really, if you think about it restricting the form of payment the customers are allowed to use should not be allowed in my opinion. This is because everyone is different and therefore not everyone wants to use the same form of payment and should not be forced to do so.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do think the policy is annoying and possibly not the best business decision, as a private business I believe that the owner is entitled to adopt their own policies.
ReplyDeleteAs for Lisa's comments about PENNDOT I remember being annoyed by this policy but never thought about the fact that they are a state authority and not a private business. I would think that this policy would then be a direct violation of Section 31 U.S.C. 5103. It would be interesting to look into that further.