# Coffee shop only accepts Venmo as payment. Is it legal to NOT accept cash? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902 "2022-08-18T17:56:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/21 "2022-08-18T21:23:00Z")
Deleted post (reconsidered the value of opinions) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/22 "2022-08-18T21:25:12Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > We can argue, but a lawyer who _knows_ needs to give an opinion. Which, like all legal opinions, is opinion unless there is precedent to back it up. Remember that this is in Factual Questions. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/23 "2022-08-18T21:30:18Z")
Even if it’s legal for a business to not accept cash, it doesn’t mean they can only accept Venmo. In NYC , a law was passed in January 2020 prohibiting businesses from refusing cash unless they have a fee - free “reverse ATM “ on the premises to convert cash into a card that can be used at that establishment .So Citifield and other venues do not have to accept cash but they couldn’t go Venmo-only. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/24 "2022-08-18T21:34:10Z")
It never ends. Recently, on StackExchange, they had somebody [proposing](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/82587/in-a-state-with-the-common-law-definition-of-theft-can-you-force-a-store-to-tak) to take merchandise from a store without paying, but “with the intent to pay later”, and somehow that “intent” would turn the theft into a debt, so that it would finally be possible to force the store to accept cash payment since **the magic sentence on the dollar bill** surely applies in that case. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/25 "2022-08-18T21:38:54Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > [@md-2000](#): > > > > We can argue, but a lawyer who _knows_ needs to give an opinion. Which, like all legal opinions, is opinion unless there is precedent to back it up. > > Remember that this is in Factual Questions. an informed opinion by an educated expert is about as factual as hypotheticals can get. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/26 "2022-08-19T02:06:53Z")
I was surprised at the DMV when I tried to pay cash for my new license and discovered they are checks or credit card only. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/27 "2022-08-19T02:12:45Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Even if it’s legal for a business to not accept cash, it doesn’t mean they can only accept Venmo. In NYC , a law was passed in January 2020 prohibiting businesses from refusing cash unless they have a fee - free “reverse ATM “ on the premises to convert cash into a card that can be used at that establishment Again, as explicitly noted in the Federal Reserve web pages I linked to upthread: there is no _Federal_ law that states that businesses must accept cash, and further, businesses are free to choose to accept (or deny) whatever payment systems they like…unless there is a local or state law which says otherwise (which seems to be the case in the example you give). In New York City, such a store may not be able to only accept Venmo. That’s likely not the case in many other areas, which do not have such laws. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/28 "2022-08-19T02:13:28Z")
United Airlines has gone even further: Now, they don’t accept cash or physical credit cards. You have to add your credit card info to your flight information on their smartphone app before the flight. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/29 "2022-08-19T02:14:03Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > We can argue, but a lawyer who _knows_ needs to give an opinion. Which, like all legal opinions, is opinion unless there is precedent to back it up. Please look at post #2, where I quote the **Federal Reserve** on the topic. (I bet they have lawyers who would concur.) > [@Coffee shop only accepts Venmo as payment. Is it legal to NOT accept cash?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/3): > > That topic has come up here before, and the answer seems to be “yes,” because while cash is legal tender, there is no federal law that says that a private business (or person) must accept it. This web page, from the Federal Reserve, spells this out. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/30 "2022-08-19T02:19:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > What coffee shop is giving you coffee before you’ve paid for it? I’ve never paid for anything before they hand it to me. So… pretty much all of them. And I don’t know what Venmo is but I’m damn sure it’s never going to be an app on my phone. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/31 "2022-08-19T02:22:03Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I’ve never paid for anything before they hand it to me. So… pretty much all of them. Have you never bought coffee at a Starbucks? A McDonalds? I’m pretty sure that they don’t work that way. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/32 "2022-08-19T02:26:17Z")
Actually, thanks for that; I’m taking a United flight in a couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/33 "2022-08-19T02:26:32Z")
Aha- Magiver was talking about _coffee_, not that starbux stuff! 😛 😜 ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/34 "2022-08-19T02:27:33Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In New York City, such a store may not be able to only accept Venmo. That’s likely not the case in many other areas, which do not have such laws. Of course it’s not the case in places that don’t have such laws - but NYC is not the only place that has similar laws. Massachusetts has required stores to accept cash since 1978 and as far as I can tell , there is no workaround for loading cash onto cards. Philadelphia was already mentioned in this thread , New Jersey requires retailers to accept cash and I’m sure there are also other state and local laws requiring stores to accept cash. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/35 "2022-08-19T02:31:29Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Of course it’s not the case in places that don’t have such laws - but NYC is not the only place that has similar laws. This article lists where those laws exist (as of 2021); most of them already have been named in this thread. - Massachusetts - New Jersey - Colorado - New York City - Philadelphia - San Francisco - Washington D.C. > **[Paying With Cash? Retailers Must Take Your Dollars in These States. - Stateline](https://stateline.org/2021/05/11/paying-with-cash-retailers-must-take-your-dollars-in-these-states/)** > > Read Stateline coverage of the pandemic’s effect on the economy. DENVER — After a constituent called Colorado state Rep. Alex Valdez last spring and complained that some local businesses weren’t accepting cash, the Denver Democrat... ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/36 "2022-08-19T02:47:21Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Have you never bought coffee at a Starbucks? they would have to pay ME to drink burnt coffee. You have a point about fast food which is an oxymoron because you have to wait on most of it. I’ve actually started buying that kind of food from a local gas station that specializes in making food to order. It’s actually better than most of the fast food chains. And damn if they don’t give me the food first. If someone’s business model is a phone app then best of luck. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/37 "2022-08-19T02:54:39Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If someone’s business model is a phone app then best of luck. Trust me, kid, thie “telephone” malarky’s never gonna make a dent in the Pony Express. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/38 "2022-08-19T02:56:23Z")
I, also, have frequently been handed the cup of coffee before being asked to pay. At coffee shops, even. Interesting that it’s 3 states and 4 cities. I’m not that surprised that starts have that power, but I’m surprised a city can pass that type of regulation. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/39 "2022-08-19T02:57:56Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Trust me, kid, thie “telephone” malarky’s never gonna make a dent in the Pony Express. I don’t ever remember a business professor in college that thought limiting cash flow options was a good business plan. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/40 "2022-08-19T02:59:32Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Interesting that it’s 3 states and 4 cities. I’m not that surprised that starts have that power, but I’m surprised a city can pass that type of regulation. Basically a city can pass any kind of legislation the state lets it. Some states specifically permit some kinds of regulations for cities and some states specifically don’t let cities pass certain kinds of regulations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902.md?page=3)