Cash or Card: The Payment Dilemma Developing in Texas

(Tyler, Texas) - I'll be completely honest, I don't carry a lot of cash with me while shopping in East Texas. It's just easier to keep up with my debit or credit card. It's not that don't want to carry cash with me, it's just so much more convenient to go without it.

That's the attitude of a lot of people not only in Texas, but across the country and the world. Some believe it's simply a safety issue. Cash isn't traceable and easy to steal. But can a business legally refuse your cash as a payment for services? You will be shocked by the answer.

Is it Legal for Texas Businesses to Refuse Cash

My first job was at Burger King in the Westwood Shopping Center on the West Loop in Tyler. This was the mid 1990s and debit cards were just becoming a thing for consumers to carry. At Burger King, we didn't have a credit card machine so it was cash only to do business.

There were multiple days or nights that I could have upwards of $5,000, $6,000 or even $8,000 in cash to put in a deposit bag for the bank. We did get a weird look or two if we didn't take someone's card but that person would usually have some cash on hand to finish the transaction.

Cash or Card: The Payment Dilemma

Now, retailers could get weird looks from customers if they are told that the business doesn't take cash. Electronic transactions have become faster and easier to carry out to both retailers and customers.

So, is it illegal for a business to refuse cash as payment? The short answer is no, it is not. This answer can be found at federalreserve.gov. It states:

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.

So what if a business refuses my cash payment?

Well, the only answer I have is to take it up with the management of that business. If cash is all you have then surely something can be worked out.

Checks went by the wayside a long time ago. People still use them but it is very few that do. I haven't written one in 20 plus years. The same fate, whether you like it or not, may come to cash as well.