King County will require businesses to accept cash
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King County officials have decided cash is king — and that retail stores in unincorporated areas of the county must accept it in most cases.
Driving the news: The King County Council voted 5-4 Tuesday to require retail businesses to accept cash payments, which will prevent shops from accepting payment only by app or credit card. The new requirement will take effect in July 2025.
Why it matters: The measure is designed to ensure that people who don't have bank accounts — or who prefer to use cash — aren't shut out of the region's increasingly digital economy.
Details: The ban on cashless businesses won't apply to businesses in Seattle — just to areas of the county that aren't within the boundaries of an incorporated city.
- Retail shops in those areas will still be able to reject bills over $20. They also will still be able to require digital or credit card payments for online transactions, or at automated kiosks.
Of note: The cash requirement applies to businesses that sell tangible goods like food, toiletries or clothing, but not to stores that provide consumer services like hairdressing or insurance.
- Businesses can still refuse to accept cash if there is nearby access to a machine that converts cash to a pre-paid card. They can also apply for exemptions in some cases, like if they've had frequent thefts.
What they're saying: King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles, the sponsor of the ordinance, said at Tuesday's council meeting that more businesses have switched to no-cash-accepted policies in recent years, a trend that accelerated during the pandemic.
- But she said that's negatively affected people who don't have bank accounts or credit, limiting their access to food and other essentials.
The big picture: Across Washington state, 2.1% of households didn't have bank accounts in 2021, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Nationally, the number is even higher, at 4.5%.
- Low-income people are more likely to rely on cash, according to Pew Research Center data. Black and Hispanic people also use cash at higher rates than white people, Pew found.
- New York City, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. all have enacted policies mandating that businesses accept cash, as have the states of Massachusetts, Colorado and New Jersey, according to county council staff.
Zoom in: Seattle doesn't have a similar policy in place, nor is it considering one at the moment, according to city council staff.