Cash or Card: A New Payment Dilemma Now Developing in Texas

For most Texans, cash is no longer king, it's just easier for us to keep up with a debit or credit card. It's just so much more convenient these days.

Some believe it's simply also a safety issue. Cash isn't traceable and easy to steal. But can a business legally refuse your cash as a payment for services? You may be shocked by the answer.

Is it Legal for Texas Businesses to Refuse Cash?

Now, retailers could get weird looks from customers if they are told that the business doesn't take cash. Electronic transactions have become faster, easier, and normal to carry out to both retailers and customers.

So, is it illegal for a business to refuse cash as payment? No, it is not. This answer can be found at federalreserve.gov. It states:

There is no federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law that says otherwise.

So what if a business refuses my cash payment?

Well, the only answer I have is to take it up with the management of that business. If cash is all you have, then surely something can be worked out.

Checks went by the wayside a long time ago. People still use them, but it is very few that do. I haven't written one in 20 plus years. The same fate, whether you like it or not, may come to cash as well.