Sponsors (26)
Requires most physical retail sellers to accept cash for transactions up to $500, bans cash surcharges, creates limited exceptions, and adds a private right of action.
Official title: To ensure that United States currency is treated as legal tender to be accepted as payment for purchases of goods and services at brick-and-mortar businesses throughout the United States, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 7, 2025 by John Rose · Last progress February 7, 2025
The bill expands and enforces in-person cash access and consumer protections (helping low-income and unbanked people) but does so while adding compliance obligations, penalties, potential shifts toward prepaid products, and regulatory uncertainty that impose costs and burdens on businesses and could be passed to consumers.
Low-income, unbanked, and cash-reliant consumers (including seniors) keep the ability to make in-person purchases using cash because retailers must accept cash for transactions up to $500.
All shoppers are protected from being charged higher prices for paying with cash because retailers are prohibited from surcharging cash customers.
People who convert cash on-premises to prepaid cards (often unbanked or low-income customers) get multiple consumer protections: no device fee, minimal ($1) deposit cap, limits on card fees/expiration, no personal data collection on the device, and inactivity fees only after 12 months if disclosed.
Small businesses face new compliance costs, penalties (up to $1,500 per violation), and increased litigation risk — costs that could be passed to consumers through higher prices or lost margin.
Customers holding large-denomination cash can be inconvenienced because businesses are allowed to refuse $50+ bills for the next five years.
The Treasury is authorized to issue future rules about required denominations after five years, creating regulatory uncertainty for businesses and consumers until that rulemaking is finalized.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires most in-person retail sellers with physical locations to accept U.S. cash for transactions up to $500, bans surcharging cash customers, and creates limited exceptions (temporary inability and certain on-premises cash-to-prepaid conversions). It also allows a temporary five-year exception permitting refusal of large-denomination bills and directs the Treasury to issue a rule after five years on required denominations. The bill creates a private right of action with a 45-day pre-suit notice process and provides for damages and injunctive relief for violations. Also permits a single monthly inactivity fee on qualifying prepaid cards after 12 months of inactivity if disclosed on the card, and includes consumer-protection requirements for covered on-site cash-to-prepaid conversion devices.