Los Angeles City Hall (Photo: Evan Symon for the California Globe)
Los Angeles City Council Considers Ban On Cashless Businesses
Currently only San Francisco and Berkeley are the only cities with cashless store bans in place
By Evan Symon, August 23, 2023 4:28 pm
The Los Angeles City Council continued this week to consider banning all cashless stores, those that only accept credit cards, debit cards, and other virtual payments while not accepting cash, and forcing all business to accept cash as a payment.
Since the 2010’s, cashless stores have been on the rise in the U.S., with a large bump being seen during and after the COVID-19 pandemic because of many people wanting to reduce the spread of the virus. While cashless stores brought many positives, including ease of purchase and robberies dramatically going down, some negatives were also seen. In particular, opponents said that cashless businesses were not inclusive, leaving out those who preferred to use cash, those without bank accounts, the elderly, low-income people, the homeless, and illegal immigrants.
Statistics have shown that more and more people are no longer using cash, with the percentage of Americans having all purchases being made by cashless means going up from 29% in 2018 to 41% in 2022. However, in California, 7% of the population remains unbanked, with another 20% being underbanked, and not having constant access to funds. The rapidly changing digitalization of payments is, as a result, becoming more and more at odds with those who don’t have access or don’t want access to the cashless system.
As there is no federal law barring cashless stores or having stores accept paper and coin money as payment, many states and cities have swooped in since the late 2010s and instituted bans on cashless stores. Colorado, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Jersey have instituted statewide bans, while major cities like Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington D.C. have passed city bans. In 2019, San Francisco became the first city in California to pass such a ban, with Berkeley joining them soon afterwards.
In their decision four years ago, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors said that such brick and mortar stores tended to disclude lower income people who often don’t have card or digital means to pay for things and only have cash on them. Despite the pandemic sweeping through the city and many businesses leaving due, in part, to having to accept cash and thus being more vulnerable to robberies, the ban has stayed in place.
Last week, Los Angeles became the latest major city to consider such a ban, with Councilwoman Heather Hutt introducing the ban on cashless retail motion. In her motion, Hutt specifically pointed out that many are unable to get bank accounts or not being allowed to get credit access, with cash the only way they can pay for many goods and services. Specifically, Hutt stressed that “not accepting cash payments in the marketplace systematically excludes low-income communities of color, young people who do not meet the age qualifications for credit or debit cards, and seniors who have not transitioned to card or digital payment modes.”
The LA cashless store ban petition
In a statement, the Councilwoman said, “Cashless businesses create an economy in our City that is not inclusive and accessible for all people.” There are many unbanked groups, including BIPOC and low income communities, that rely on cash to pay for goods and services. As a City that has promised to be a safe and fair place for all, we must be proactive in ensuring that all our systems create fairness and equity for each and every individual.”
Hutt also added in a later statement, “Underbanked, unbanked and low-income individuals, who make up distinct demographic segments, rely on cash the most. Black and Latino households are the populations most likely to be either unbanked or underbanked in Los Angeles and nationally.”
While the petition has received support, many businesses, especially those that have been robbed in the past and businesses that like to encourage shopping, have come out against the petition.
“I don’t want a gun in my face again,” said Pedro Lopez, a convenience store owner in Los Angeles, to the Globe. “Some people do pay with bills, but the majority pay with a credit or debit card. We really need to start embracing cashless places. Robbers don’t come in and here and steal all your Cheetos and Takis at gunpoint. It’s always the register. If you take that out of the equation, the incentive to rob in a violent manner is pretty much gone.”
“I admit that many people would be left out, but they would just need to learn to adapt. We need to reduce robberies, and increasing the number of cashless places would do that.”
If passed by the City Council, the motion would have the LA City Attorney draft an ordinance on banning cashless businesses, with a City Council vote on that to happen soon afterwards.
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Los Angeles’ attempt to ban cashless stores is an attempt to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. Apparently, Los Angeles needs to stay Woke and evade the fact that going cashless means more surveillance and more control for the big corporations over the people. No. It doesn’t address this traditional American principle. instead, Los Angeles swoons to the rhetoric of “equity” and inclusivity. Cash has always been inclusive and available to anyone who works or who goes on Welfare or is on social security. And then banning businesses because they want to use credit cards? What business is it of Los Angeles to regulate – no – to destroy businesses, because it doesn’t like how they conduct transactions? Isn’t part of “equity” (a hateful, nonsensical, Marxist term) allowing in others who are different and giving them a fair opportunity? I like the idea of encouraging many businesses to use cash, but I don’t think banning businesses unless they use cash is at all fair, logical, or in any way anything other than Marxism in action.
A cashless environment eradicates the underground economy, the lifeblood of the disenfranchised.
The ruling officials know a forthright and fully accountable and traceable financial structure imposed on the homeless will bring the balance of them to a chaotic and rebellious demeanor: The homeless numbers growing to ultimately result in a total societal breakdown therefore best to not rush the inevitable.
I will not shop at stores in LA that don’t accept cash. Being a cashless business benefits the company significantly while disenfranchising the customer. Sofi Stadium and Crytpo don’t accept cash so if I attend an event at either place I refuse to make an purchases until I’ve left the stadium. Any businesses which claim to be customer-oriented while refusing to accept cash is engaging in pure hypocrisy and will never get my business.
Before going any further with the cashless ban I am requesting that L. A. city council take a few minutes to read the 4 page “how to ride L.A..”. (website below) It is now not possible to use L.A. public transportation using caah with one
exception, local buses. Also to make this more upseting is TAP cards have a $2 fee, TAP cards
do expire, and TAP cards that are not used for 90 consecutive days actually automatically on a daily basis charge a small fee because apparently riders do not have the right to own the fare credits,
httpsww.metro.net/riding/fares/how-to-pay/
In NY, CASH is required so what the companies do is make you exchange the cash for a Merchant Specific Gift Card, then you use that Gift Card to pay. The only bad part is that you always have some left on that gift card so the consumer loses out. Legally, the stores won by forcing you to exchange your cash for their Gift Card.
It is amusing that Mr. Gomez seems to have forgotten about cigarettes and alcohol, which many convenience stores sell. They provide a strong robbery incentive with or without cash.
And businesses are leaving San Francisco largely because of shoplifting, not cash robberies.
And, if more places go cashless, criminals will just engage in more carjacking, rob more people for phones and jewelry, etc.
We need harsher penalties for criminals. The one and only form of payment accessible to everyone must be accepted.
I believe that all money should be accepted everywhere, as that is how business works, money in trade for goods or services…. I would add a lesser discussed but equally as obstinent factor. ban businesses from being cash only….. the number of times I have essentially been branded a criminal for only having my atm card, having to leave some sort of collateral to go to a nearby atm, which are usually nowhere nearby…. to run back and basically buy back my ID or pickup a hostage left behind…… it’s absurd!
LA’s government has been completely taken over by Marxist Democrats who answer to their globalist masters like the World Economic Forum globalist cabal, central bankers, the UN and the CCP?