DC's cashless business ban could be back in effect Jan. 1

Businesses in Washington, D.C., will be required to accept cash beginning Jan. 1 unless the D.C. Council takes action.

D.C. first started requiring businesses to accept cash in 2021, but because of the pandemic and lack of funding, the law was only briefly enforced. Recent crime legislation halted the enforcement again earlier this year, but that is set to expire on the first of the new year.

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson defended the ban on cashless businesses last year, pointing to the thousands of D.C. residents who don’t have access to banks, credit or debit cards.

“So, this is really about equity,” he said.

Anna Valero, who owns four entertainment venues, said she understands those concerns.

“You know, we are in an industry where we’re a lot of people's first jobs,” she said. “We are the ones that are often explaining to them about what does it mean to be bankable, how do you open a checking account, why is it important for you to open a checking account.”

“So, we are fully for solving the inequity problem around bankability,” Valero said.

Many business owners don’t want to accept cash because of crime.

“We are a cashless venue for the safety of our crew,” Valero said.

“I couldn't in good conscience, knowing what was happening with public safety in this city, suddenly expect our crew to be at a higher risk into start taking cash,” she said.

The law allows for an alternative: reverse ATMs that allow people to put in cash to get a money card. They can’t charge a fee and the cards don’t expire.

Businesses that never accepted cash, like automated parking garages, are exempt from the law.

Shawn Townsend with the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington said most of the restaurants he represents do accept cash.

“We've been talking to Council over the past couple of months about extending that delay or finding a solution to permanently exempt restaurants and businesses that are open late,” he said.

Councilmembers Kenyan McDuffie and Christina Henderson are expected to propose legislation to either delay enforcement or exempt some businesses that serve alcohol or are open late at night.

Fines for refusing to accept cash start at just more than $1,000 for the first offense and go up to more than $9,000 after the fourth offense. During the period D.C. was enforcing the law, the city issued 54 warnings but no fines.

Valero said if the city does begin enforcing the law again, she might decide to ignore it and pay the fines.

“I feel like as a small business owner in the city, Council is not giving me much of a choice, because unless they pass, not just emergency legislation, but recognize that the public safety concerns still exist and are willing to pass true regulation that helps to protect our people that they're only giving me the option of taking the financial hit because they're not willing to move on this topic,” she said. “And so, I feel like I'm being backed into a corner by Council on an issue that is purely around how do I protect my team.”

Councilmembers McDuffie and Henderson and Chairman Mendelson did not comment for this report.

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