# 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:** 1\ **Showing post:** 11
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/11 "2022-08-18T19:07:17Z")
@Cheesesteak. You’re about to relitigate the exact scenario / thread @md-2000 mentions just above. See starting here > [@Has A Government Ever Taken Drastic Measures To Address A Labor Shortage?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-government-ever-taken-drastic-measures-to-address-a-labor-shortage/963261/26): > > Ha ha ha ha ha. No. Self-serve attendant is one of the jobs I do at work. The ratio is 1 attendant to 6 stations, not “dozens”. Unless you want rampant theft through the self-serve (which, presumably, Wal-Mart tolerates given they are entirely self-serve right now, unlike my place of employment). And you’d be surprised how many people are NOT capable of checking themselves out. And people STILL try to use cash at the machines clearly labeled and set aside as “card only”. In theory you’re… then proceeding intermittently for a while then really picking up speed around post 58 & subsequent. It appears the legal answer is in the absence of local law requiring them to accept US cash, you’re either paying with Venmo, leaving the merch behind, or shoplifting. Take your choice of actions and corresponding consequences. Bottom line is they are no more required by law to accept US cash than they are to accept e.g. Japanese cash. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902)._