The County Council is anticipated to vote this week on a rule that cash must be accepted at retail stores outside city limits.
The rule would require accepting cash as an option for all purchases under $200. The rule ensures people who are “unbanked” without a debit or credit card aren’t shut out. Businesses can file for exceptions on certain grounds.
The rules are for brick-and-mortar retailers; food trucks, for example, wouldn’t be affected, county legislative analyst Jim Martin said.
The proposed rule allows retailers to file for exceptions: One allows cashless businesses if they have machines that convert cash into prepaid debit cards at no fee.
Other exceptions are if the shop typically only has one employee, if it is a frequent theft target, if the store is inside a home residence, or if there is no bank within 15 miles of the shop.
The exceptions would be lodged with the county auditor’s office; County Councilwoman Megan Dunn wanted to know exactly what the recording fee is to get an exception.
In talks last week, a few council members zeroed in on how the rule would be enforced and how the county could mediate complaints. The current language requires customers to file a civil lawsuit if a store won’t take their cash.
County Councilman Nate Nehring introduced the cash rule in response to when a constituent brought up that they sent their daughter to a store to buy something with cash and the store only took card, he said.
Cold, hard cash is what the largest number of people have, and some swear by it. Some possess no debit or credit card.
About 200,000 households in Washington state, or about 3% of the population, do not have a bank account, 2021 study data from bank regulators the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) shows. But slice it up and certain segments most likely living paycheck-to-paycheck are who’s “unbanked”: almost 20% of households earning less than $15,000 have no bank account, and almost 15% of disabled adults have no bank account. Other concentrations of unbanked people are who’s likely not in the labor force (about 6% do not use a bank vs. 94% do), or not a U.S. citizen (about 9% do not vs. 91% are banked), FDIC data shows.
The biggest reason those without a bank account told the FDIC said why is because they don’t can’t meet minimum balance requirements.
Finance industry watchdogs say others avoid bank accounts because of bank charges, particularly bank overdraft fees. These bank overdraft fees range from $5 to $40 a pop when people run afoul of not having enough money in their account to cover a check or expenditure.
Nehring said the ordinance for unincorporated county could be a template for city governments to do the same.
