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What Happens When Restaurants Go Cashless (usatoday.com)
There's a new trend starting: restaurants that won't accept cash. USA Today reports:
Restaurant owners say ordering is faster from customers who slap down plastic instead of dollars, cutting a few seconds out of the process. But most of the benefits appear to accrue to the restaurants: less time taken counting bills, reduced pilferage, no armored-car fees or fear of stickups. It's a risky strategy. For starters, upscale Millennials -- among the most coveted of diners because of their youth and affluence -- prefer to pay in cash, according to Bankrate.com data. Also, more than a third of Americans between the ages of 18 and 37 do not have a credit card. For customers, patronizing restaurants that don't take cash means one less payment option when they need a quick meal during an all-too-short lunch hour. Plus, it raises questions about whether it discriminates against cardless teens and the poor... A committee in Chicago is weighing Alderman Edward Burke's proposed requirement that merchants accept cash. Massachusetts has had a Discrimination Against Cash Buyers rule on the books since 1978... Lana Swartz, co-editor of the book Paid: Tales of Dongles, Checks, and Other Money Stuff, says "One of the cornerstones of American capitalism is everyone's money is equal."
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports: Many business owners would rather be cashless. Cash actually costs money -- banks charge fees for cash deposits and to handle coins... And counting and checking cash and preparing it for deposit takes up time a manager could spend with staff or customers... Millions of consumers use little or no cash. In a survey released last month by the financial services company Capital One, only 21 percent of 2,000 people questioned said cash was their most common way to pay for things. But going cashless isn't a slam-dunk. Some customers who want to use cash point to a statement on paper money: "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private." However, the Federal Reserve says on its website that private companies can make their own policies about cash unless there is a state law saying otherwise.
One Houston restauranteur changed his mind about going cashless, saying "You can't compete if you think you're going to create a whole set of rules and expect people to follow them." One Chicago restauranteur admits that "it has generated the most negative pushback of anything we've ever done," estimating revenue fell 2% just from angry cash customers who never returned.
But he persisted because his eight restaurants had experienced six burglaries, break-ins or armed robberies over the last eight years -- and got "dozens and dozens" of counterfeit bills from customers -- while by going cashless, he no longer has to pay for bank fees and armored car pickups.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports: Many business owners would rather be cashless. Cash actually costs money -- banks charge fees for cash deposits and to handle coins... And counting and checking cash and preparing it for deposit takes up time a manager could spend with staff or customers... Millions of consumers use little or no cash. In a survey released last month by the financial services company Capital One, only 21 percent of 2,000 people questioned said cash was their most common way to pay for things. But going cashless isn't a slam-dunk. Some customers who want to use cash point to a statement on paper money: "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private." However, the Federal Reserve says on its website that private companies can make their own policies about cash unless there is a state law saying otherwise.
One Houston restauranteur changed his mind about going cashless, saying "You can't compete if you think you're going to create a whole set of rules and expect people to follow them." One Chicago restauranteur admits that "it has generated the most negative pushback of anything we've ever done," estimating revenue fell 2% just from angry cash customers who never returned.
But he persisted because his eight restaurants had experienced six burglaries, break-ins or armed robberies over the last eight years -- and got "dozens and dozens" of counterfeit bills from customers -- while by going cashless, he no longer has to pay for bank fees and armored car pickups.
Afterwards, if they don't like your payment offer, what can they do? They could sue you - and you could pay the judgement in cash :)
They sue you. You cite the legal tender laws. They lose.
The law, as I understand it, is this:
- You agree to a purchase denominated in dollars.
- They deliver on their side, creating a debt on your side.
- You offer payment in Federal Reserve Notes.
- They either:
1) Accept the payment, settling the debt.
2) Refuse the payment. The debt is cancelled because they refused to accept payment in Federal Reserve Notes.
This we settled (with some governmental violence against people who didn't want to accept FRNs) about a century ago, when FRNs were first introduced. Lots of people who expected payment in real gold and silver coins, made of amounts of valuable metal approximating their face value, or paper notes giving a government promise of on-demand exchange for the equivalent value in silver, didn't want to take bank-generated paper money backed by nothing but the government's promise to make people accept it. So the Federal Government had to force a bunch of people to accept it until they gave up and played along.
The Federal Government has a strong incentive to keep enforcing the rule. Otherwise the system (which lets them skirt constitutional prohibitions and print fiat currency by proxy) falls apart, along with the economy built around it.
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
A lot of these places don't print receipts. They either want to email you the receipt or not give you one at all. I don't want to give my email to another business, but I do want my receipt.
Do what I do - Get an email service that does Catchall addresses.
Then when you go to Bob's Fine Eatery, give them the email address Bob'sFineEatery@yourdomain.com.
The address you set up to receive all anonymous emails will get that receipt, as well as any spam generated.
Why bother? Because when you get spam from Bob'sFineEatery@yourdomain.com, you know EXACTLY which asshole sold your email address to the spammers.