# Which businesses are the most and least cashless in the USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 26, 2016, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224 "2016-01-26T02:59:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/41 "2016-01-28T02:24:44Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > I have a business account at Chase. I will ask them about this. It was Chase where I deposited the cash. Or you can [just click here](https://www.chase.com/personal-banking/cash-deposit-policy) and save a trip to the bank. ---
**Author:** ![sbunny8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/42 "2016-01-28T04:32:09Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > [It’s Chase bank, right?](https://www.chase.com/personal-banking/cash-deposit-policy) > Yes, they introduced this policy in 2014. They instructed their employees to tell complaining customers that it’s a government mandate and that soon all the banks will be doing it. (And many of the employees sincerely believe this.) I don’t know of any other major bank that has such a policy. > > By the way, it only applies to personal accounts. I believe you are mistaken there; it applies to business accounts as well. I have many times been asked for my ID when depositing cash into our Chase business checking, if the teller doesn’t recognize my face. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/43 "2016-01-28T14:45:19Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > This is what I came to say. Recreational marijuana was over $300 million in Colorado in 2014. In 2015 it surpassed the previous year by August, but I can’t find a total for 2015. > > Almost all of that was cash. When I bought pot in CO last year, it was by my choice, not the stores’. I didn’t actually ask about credit cards in all the stores I was in (I think 5 of them), but two offered to let me pay by plastic. My paranoia about a paper trail was enough that I said no. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/44 "2016-01-28T16:12:19Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > When I bought pot in CO last year, it was by my choice, not the stores’. I didn’t actually ask about credit cards in all the stores I was in (I think 5 of them), but two offered to let me pay by plastic. My paranoia about a paper trail was enough that I said no. Some marijuana stores do take cards, but they do so by not letting the bank know what kind of business they’re in. Sometimes the owner has another business that the transactions are ostensibly for. Or they may use a business name that hides the nature of the store. When the banks find out, they close the accounts. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/45 "2016-01-28T18:44:02Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Would “most cashful” be better? Most cashy, as in cashy money. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/46 "2016-01-28T19:00:00Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > [It’s Chase bank, right?](https://www.chase.com/personal-banking/cash-deposit-policy) > Yes, they introduced this policy in 2014. They instructed their employees to tell complaining customers that it’s a government mandate and that soon all the banks will be doing it. (And many of the employees sincerely believe this.) I don’t know of any other major bank that has such a policy. > > By the way, it only applies to personal accounts. It may not be a actual law, but their regulator may have required it, which makes it a mandate for all intents on purposes. If so, then other regulators may also start requiring it. It prevents Money Laundering. It’s actually a good idea, but perhaps maybe only for larger deposits, say over $1000. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/47 "2016-01-28T23:17:38Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > fast food as the least cashless (by the same token, you can use a credit card for your burger and fries but people generally don’t). Not in my experience in the Midwest US. In the drive through, most of the cars I see in front of or behind me in line hand over cards to pay. Inside many/most fast food places now have the self-swiping card reader like grocery stores use. Some even require you to select your payment method and indicate on the card reader that you would like to use cash. I use both, and when I do use cash I think cashiers are slightly surprised and perhaps mildly annoyed they have to handle it. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/48 "2016-01-28T23:59:41Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Most cashy, as in cashy money. 😃 You can also hide cash in a cache. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/49 "2016-01-29T00:09:49Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > You can also hide cash in a cache. But where’s the cachet in that? ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/50 "2016-01-29T00:29:54Z")
Drug dealers never take DoJ-issued AmEx cards. This is terribly frustrating and makes it necessary to go to the office to get money to buy drugs. Ugh. Paperwork… ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/51 "2016-02-02T04:54:04Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > FWIW, there are a lot of sex workers who will accept prepaid VISA cards as payment. This is exponentially more common than actually taking credit card transactions. > > Or so I’ve been told. So what do they do to verify that there are funds remaining on the prepaid card? I mean, you could buy a 100 dollar prepaid Visa, spend 90 bucks on it, and then hire a personal trainer at 100 dollars for an hour. She’s gonna be PISSED when the card bounces. Or is it like this? “Hang on, Johnny, gotta pull out my Square and run this through first…”. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/52 "2016-02-02T13:01:56Z")
So you’re thinking they _don’t_ demand prepayment? ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/53 "2016-02-02T18:12:32Z")
Here are some actual numbers regarding the OP’s question. We run a medium size auto repair shop up here in the Great Pacific Northwest, with a gross annual income that averages just under a million a year. The breakdown is this Cash and checks: 24%: Of this, 36% is in actual cash, and 64% is in checks. Credit Cards: 76% Now you’ve got one firm data point. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/54 "2016-02-03T00:03:21Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > …Or is it like this? > “Hang on, Johnny, gotta pull out my Square and run this through first…”. Or they could just call the 800 number on the back of the card to verify the balance. ---
**Author:** ![bubba001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f17d59/32.png) [@bubba001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba001)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224/55 "2016-02-03T01:56:46Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > Here are some actual numbers regarding the OP’s question. > > We run a medium size auto repair shop up here in the Great Pacific Northwest, with a gross annual income that averages just under a million a year. The breakdown is this > > Cash and checks: 24%: Of this, 36% is in actual cash, and 64% is in checks. > Credit Cards: 76% > > Now you’ve got one firm data point. That is pretty similar to my wife’s dog grooming salon. Less than 10% cash. Most of the cash comes from older customers. We don’t have a lot of folks under 30, but the younger ones always use a card. Some days, there is zero cash, and those days are getting more common. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-businesses-are-the-most-and-least-cashless-in-the-usa/744224.md?page=2)