Republican lawmaker wants customers to bank on Ohio businesses accepting their cash

It’s estimated the number of businesses that don’t accept cash has doubled since the start of the COVID pandemic.

But even though many people have become comfortable paying with a smart phone or credit or debit card, a Republican state lawmaker wants to move the other way and make sure businesses are required to accept cash along with other forms of payment.

Some people use cash to avoid electronic transaction tracking data. And the FDIC says 4.6% of Ohio households have no bank account, many of them immigrants and/or low income.

“Think immigrants, low income people may have trouble getting banked. Cash is their only option. Are we going to have a situation where they can't participate fully in the market? The other part of it is just sort of a privacy issue," said Sen. Bill Blessing (R-Colerain Township).

While Republicans often balk at new regulations for businesses, Blessing said those are reasons why he wants to require businesses to take cash in the bill he's proposed.

Blessing pointed to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"That's been very helpful to people with disabilities. And outside of action for that, would there have been, I guess, the movement towards building buildings to be more handicapped accessible? Maybe. I don't know. But if businesses found that to be a large expense, I don't know that they would have done it on their own," Blessing said. "The point is, we do have regulations on businesses. It just depends on what makes sense here in light of a societal good."

Blessing’s bill allows customers to sue businesses that won’t take cash for $5,000 in non-economic damages. And it includes exceptions such as municipal parking programs and major sports stadiums.

Federal law doesn’t require cash to be accepted, but some cities and states do.

And Blessing said if the move to cashless transactions continues, he expects lawmakers will want privacy protections for consumers’ financial data.

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