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Payment Choice Act: Stores Must Accept Cash

This new law aims to ensure that physical retail businesses accepting in-person payments must accept cash for purchases under $2,000. This means they cannot refuse cash payments or charge cash-paying customers higher prices. The act seeks to protect consumers' right to use cash in daily transactions.
Key points
Retail businesses must accept cash for sales under $2,000 at physical locations.
Cash-paying customers cannot be charged higher prices than those using other payment methods.
Exceptions include temporary system failures, lack of change, or providing fee-free cash-to-prepaid card conversion devices.
For 5 years, businesses are not required to accept $100 bills or larger, with future rules to be determined.
Violations can lead to fines and liability for actual damages.
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Status:
Expired
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Additional Information
Print number: 117_HR_4395
Sponsor: Rep. Payne, Donald M., Jr. [D-NJ-10]
Process start date: 2021-07-09
System Note: Lustra is free, publicly auditable civic infrastructure, with full source code available on GitHub. You are reading sterilized legislative data, processed by our radical neutrality engine to strip political spin and retain factual mechanics. We process only official government data. Original documents remain the authoritative source, always verify them if you can.
Summarized by: gemini-2.5-flash-preview-05-20
Source data: api.congress.gov
AI work logs for this document launch

OFFICIAL LEGAL TITLE

Payment Choice Act of 2021

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the official ID of this bill?

The official print number for this legislation is 117_HR_4395.

Which chamber initiated this legislation?

This legislation was initiated in the House of Representatives.

When did the legislative process begin?

The process officially started on 2021-07-09.

What are the main provisions?

Key points include:

  • Retail businesses must accept cash for sales under $2,000 at physical locations.
  • Cash-paying customers cannot be charged higher prices than those using other payment methods.
  • Exceptions include temporary system failures, lack of change, or providing fee-free cash-to-prepaid card conversion devices.
  • For 5 years, businesses are not required to accept $100 bills or larger, with future rules to be determined.
  • Violations can lead to fines and liability for actual damages.
What is the specific legal status?

The current status is Expired.

Where can I read the full text of this legislation?

The full official text is available at: View full text

Who is the primary sponsor?

The primary sponsor is Rep. Payne, Donald M., Jr. [D-NJ-10].

What is the latest detailed status?

The latest detailed status is: Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 32 - 17.

Is this summary verified?

Yes. This content was analyzed by AI and verified by the Lustra Judge System on 2025-12-28.

What is the impact of this bill?

We don't know, that is up to you to decide. Summarizing raw data with AI is fundamentally different from predicting socio-economic outcomes. As of 2026, we believe impact assessment strictly requires a human in the loop to verify and judge.

CATEGORIES

Economy Courts and Law