U.S. Senators Bob Menedez (D-New Jersey) and Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) have reintroduced the Payment Choice Act, which would ensure retail organizations cannot refuse cash as a payments option, according to a press release.
The bill is designed to protect the 5.4% of Americans who are unbanked and the 16% who are underbanked.
«Prohibiting cash payments is an act of discrimination against the millions of Americans who do not have bank accounts or prefer cash. It also forces customers to exclusively use a less secure form of payment. The Payment Choice Act protects people’s right to participate in the economy using their preferred form of payment,» Cramer said in the release. «If businesses unilaterally stop accepting cash, why do we print money? Is it really legal tender for all debts as it says?»
This bill is the Senate version of the H.R. 4395 bill introduced by Democratic Representative Donald Payne, which passed the House on June 15.