Florida businesses may be prohibited from going cashless

Cash transactions are taking a back seat to credit cards.
-SVT Photo

By Tami Stevenson

In today’s digital world, more and more shoppers are using credit cards and smart phones to pay for purchases. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic left many home-bound or under quarantine, having no choice but to order supplies online or pre-pay with other means rather than cash. The use of cash has significantly diminished in the last couple of years and so have the businesses that want to accept it.

According to a statistics portal for market data, Statista Research & Analysis, point-of-sale (POS) US retailers reported that in 2020, only 12 percent of overall POS purchases were made with cash while 38 percent were made with credit cards and 29 percent were made using debit cards. Pre-paid cards, POS financing, etc. showed each at 4 percent. The digital/mobile wallet was at 10 percent.

As more and more businesses decide to go cashless, low-income people, the homeless and others are being excluded.

In light of these exclusions, last week, a bill was filed for the Florida 2022 Regular Legislative Session that could end all that. House Bill 233 and Senate Bill 408, if passed, would require the acceptance of cash payments by businesses as long as the customer is physically present at the location, basically. If passed, the bill would take effect July 1, 2022.

Businesses would not be allowed to charge a fee or place any other condition on its acceptance of cash. Violators would be subject to civil penalties up to $2,500 for their first offense, up to $5,000 for their second offense and up to $10,000 for their third or subsequent offense.

HB 233 was filed by Rep. Matt Willhite, D-Wellington and SB 408 by Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park.

Florida is not the only state experiencing this trend. Other states, such as New Jersey and Massachusetts, already require retailers to accept cash and more are expected to follow.