Retailers could face lawsuits from customers and the Ohio attorney general if they refuse to accept cash payments should a proposed bill become state law.
Senate Bill 30, a new proposal with bipartisan support, aims to tackle the rise in cashless businesses. Supporters of the bill say businesses going cashless harms people who do not bank their money, raises privacy concerns and has caused seniors to struggle to pay on apps when required.
A Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation survey from 2023 found that 4.2% of Ohioans don’t use banks, up from 3.5% in 2021.
Businesses have moved cashless as other forms of payment have become more popular and have noted benefits including saving on labor costs. Cashless retailers can close their stores faster saving time they would have spent counting a register, for example. Busy businesses can process cashless payments faster without the need to count change.
The bill would empower the Ohio attorney general to sue any business that denies cash for damages between $5,000 to $25,000 under the Consumer Sales Practices Act. Consumers would be able to sue for the amount of their transaction, plus up to $5,000 in non-economic damages.
More: Are we moving toward a cashless, checkless society?
State Sen. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Township, said this model is preferable to enforcing the bill with a fee, because large retailers like Walmart or Kroger could easily pay a fee but not the larger lawsuit damages. Director of National Federation of Independent Businesses Ohio Chris Ferruso said those penalties can be severe, especially to a small business.
Ferruso said businesses should cater to their customers and if there is a need to take cash, that they will make that switch.
Senate Bill 30 would require retailers to accept cash as a form of payment if made into law.
“I think businesses respond to the need of their customer base, and if the need of customer base is, ‘We don’t carry cash,’ then maybe that’s the route they go,” Ferruso said.
This is the third time Blessing has introduced a cashless payment bill. Previous bills had support from the Ohio Poverty Law Center and ACLU of Ohio.
Reporting on the first bill: Paying with cash? Ohio lawmaker wants to make businesses take your dollars
Blessing said he understands the argument from businesses that they should have the right to charge customers the way they want, but he stands with the consumer to use cash as a matter of liberty and privacy.
“The more places and systems that you interact with, with your credit card, the more likely it is that something is going to get hacked, or something along those lines, and your financial security, at least in part, might be compromised,” said ACLU of Ohio lobbyist Gary Daniels.
Lora Miller, lobbyist for the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants, said this legislation would not affect the council’s members but does not want the legislature dictating what should be a business’ choice.
“It’s micromanaging a business,” she said.
Who can stay cashless?
The bill outlines a few areas and kinds of businesses that would be exempt from the cash requirement:
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Venues with a capacity over 10,000
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Airport vendors in terminals with at least two places selling food that accept cash
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Parking facilities owned by a city
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Parking facilities that only take mobile payments
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Vehicle rental businesses that accept a cashier’s or certified check as payment
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Businesses that use a device to convert a customer’s cash into a prepaid card as long as there is no conversion fee are also exempt. (For example, Cedar Point has offered a cash-to-card kiosk at the park and Nationwide Arena has offered a “reverse ATM” since going cashless.)
Columbus Blue Jacket fans purchase items at the concession stand at Nationwide Arena on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. The arena is cashless, but offers a reverse ATM for people who bring cash.
Blessing modeled the bill, including the exemptions, after a New Jersey bill. Daniels said he likes the bill but wishes there were fewer exemptions. He noted that people without a cell phone or credit card can’t pay for on-street parking in many cities.
“These exceptions, for the most part, I’m fine with. If that’s what it took to get across the finish line in New Jersey, and that’s what it took to get across the finish line here, I’m good with that,” Blessing said.
More: Detroit City Council requires Detroit businesses to accept cash payments or face fines
Donovan Hunt is a fellow in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism’s Statehouse News Bureau.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Credit card only no more? Ohio bill would make businesses accept cash
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