The city of New York, faced with the growth of digital payments, which exclude part of the population from the system, has approved a bill that requires establishments to accept payments in cash.
The aim is to help people at risk of bank exclusion to continue accessing essential services and to guarantee that citizens can freely choose how they want to make their payments, without being forced to opt for one option or another.
This measure would affect businesses such as stores, restaurants, coffee shops or other essential items outlets that, because they did not accept cash, were being left out of the reach of those unbanked New Yorkers.
With this new regulation, New York goes on to lead a national movement to guarantee access and limit cashless businesses, after New Jersey, Philadelphia and San Francisco passed those bans last year and other cities are considering similar measures. In the case of Massachusetts, it should be noted that it has had a law requiring retailers to accept cash and credit since 1978.
Paying in cash is the only way that millions of Americans at risk of financial exclusion, especially the most vulnerable groups, can become part of the economic system and support themselves and their families.
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