# 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:** 3
**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 18, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902/3 "2022-08-18T18:00:50Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I vaguely remember being taught in school that businesses have to accept cash as legal tender. 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. > [@](#): > > There is no federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law that says otherwise. > **[Is it legal for a business in the United States to refuse cash as a form of...](https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/currency_12772.htm)** > > The Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington DC. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-shop-only-accepts-venmo-as-payment-is-it-legal-to-not-accept-cash/969902)._