The bill would include Amazon Go, which has 10 stores total, two of which are in San Francisco.
San Francisco is considering a ban on cashless stores like Amazon Go.
New Jersey and Philadelphia have new laws banning stores that do not accept cash. Massachusetts banned them back in 1978 with a law that says retailers cannot “discriminate against a cash buyer by requiring the use of credit.”
The San Francisco bill was first introduced by District Five Supervisor Vallie Brown introduced a bill in late February, according to CNBC. But at a Board of Supervisors meeting on March 26, Brown expanded the proposal to include Amazon Go stores, which were originally excluded because they are automated and do not have employees that would handle cash, according to a report from Curbed.
There are currently 10 Amazon Go stores in operation today, with another “coming soon” to San Francisco.
“Millions of Americans do not hold bank accounts, or otherwise fall outside the non-cash financial system,” the proposal says. “Some stand apart by choice, because they are concerned about privacy and do not want their every financial transaction recorded by banks and credit card companies; physical cash remains the most accessible anonymous medium of exchange in this country. Others may not be well situated to participate in the formal banking system, or may be excluded from that system against their will. In short, denying the ability to use cash as a payment method means excluding too many people.”
According to NJ.com, in 2017, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) found that 6.5% of U.S. households did not have a bank account.