A new bill introduced by D.C. Council member David Grosso targets cashless restaurants in Washington. If passed, it would impose penalties on restaurants that post signs indicating that cash payments are not accepted or charge different prices depending on payment method. Even if city council doesn’t like it, cashless transactions are the wave of the future.
A mandate that restaurants accept cash will hurt local businesses, both now in existence and yet to be born. It will probably also guarantee that fewer restaurants will locate themselves in D.C.’s higher-crime neighborhoods.
Business decide to go cashless for a variety of reasons, from security concerns to management preference and cash handling capacity. Without a large amount of cash stored on site, businesses are less likely to be victims of robbery, employees are less likely to be accused of mishandling money, and accounts can be streamlined, cutting down on operations costs.
In D.C., businesses like Sweetgreen, Jettie’s and JRINK already have cashless operations. If the bill passes, they would need to retrain employees, purchase new equipment, and make other administrative changes.
Grosso, along with council Chairman Phil Mendelson and four other members, do not seem to care about the difficulties their legislation poses for businesses. Instead, they are focused on making a point about how not allowing customers to pay in cash is “discriminatory” and how households in D.C. lack access to credit and other banking services.
Lack of access to banking is, of course, a problem, but targeting cashless restaurants doesn’t solve that problem. Using this as a justification simply allows the council to pay lip service to an issue it isn’t addressing.
Restaurants should have the freedom to determine what payment options they accept. Consumers, and the market, will determine if they made the right choice. The D.C. Council won’t help anyone by sticking its fingers into how people pay for salads.
