Tyrone Turner / WAMU

Update: The D.C. Council unanimously approved the bill banning cashless businesses in the city on Tuesday, during the council’s last legislative meeting of the current session.

The final measure includes an amendment from outgoing Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd that exempts retailers if they provide a cash converting device on the premises at no charge to the customer.

Original: The D.C. Council approved a bill on Tuesday that would ban cashless businesses in the city, pushing back against a nationwide trend that excludes many low-income and undocumented people.

The legislation, first introduced in 2018 by outgoing At-Large Councilmember David Grosso, would prohibit D.C. retail establishments and restaurants from refusing to accept cash payments, posting language implying cash is not accepted, or adjusting prices based on cash payment methods.

The final measure includes two adjustments from Chairman Phil Mendelson: one that pauses the ban during a public health emergency (when contactless payment may be safer), and another that provides exemptions for purchases made by phone, mail, or online, or at parking facilities that don’t currently accept cash.

The council granted initial approval of Grosso’s bill during Tuesday’s legislative meeting, and will need to give it a second and final approval before the end of the legislative session on Dec. 15.

As contactless forms of payment grew in popularity over the past decade, businesses around the U.S. have done away with cash payments in lieu of cards and new technology like Apple Pay. Several of the District’s casual restaurants — D.C.-based salad chain Sweetgreen being one of the first — hopped on board, either to burn through lines quickly or prevent theft. (Sweetgreen later reversed its no-cash policy amid backlash.)

Critics of the cashless movement say that the policies exclude low-income, unhoused, or undocumented residents, and exacerbate existing racial disparities. According to a 2017 federal survey, more than one third of District residents were unbanked or underbanked, and from 2013 to 2017, less than 1% of D.C.’s white residents reported being unbanked, compared to 20% of Black residents.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Grosso highlighted the discriminatory impacts of cashless policies on D.C. residents.

“Businesses are effectively telling lower income, undocumented, young patrons that they are not welcomed in their establishments,” Grosso said.

If the council gives the bill a final approval, D.C. would join several other major cities with similar bans, including San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New York City. 

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has yet to comment directly on the bill, which will need her approval before becoming law. While she didn’t signal a potential veto, the mayor sent a letter to the council before Tuesday’s meeting that advised members to consider the “collective impact” of passing several pieces of legislation that would “inject a heightened level of uncertainty” into District businesses during a pandemic.

In addition to the cashless ban, the council also moved forward other regulatory bills on Tuesday (against Bowser’s warnings), including a measure that would make it easier for the city to claim unpaid taxes from businesses, and allow company insiders who report any fraudulent tax claims to receive a share of reclaimed payments. The members also unanimously approved a measure that would ban non-compete agreements, which prohibit an employee from leaving their job to join a competitor.

Once the legislative session ends later this month, all bills passed by the council will go to Bowser’s desk for approval.

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