San Francisco prohibits cashless stores
San Francisco became the second major US city to ban cashless businesses in a Tuesday City Council vote, according to the San Francisco Examiner.
The 11 members of the board voted unanimously to approve the measure, according to the AP.
Although "the future may be without money," the practice is "except for many people," said Supervisor Vallie Brown (D), who introduced the bill, according to the newspaper. "This legislation will go a long way to ensuring that all San Franciscans have fair access to the city's economy," she said.
"The purpose of this [law] is to ensure that all city dwellers – including those who do not have access to other forms of payment are able to participate in the city's economic life by paying money for goods and many services," the bill says.
The bill would free up temporary pop-up stores, rideshare companies and online businesses, as well as food cars, saying they don't have the resources to accept cash. Several restaurants in San Francisco's exclusive neighborhoods like the South of Market and the Financial District do not accept cash, such as the Bluestone Lane coffee shop and The Organic Coup chicken restaurant.
The measurement passage will make San Francisco the third city or state to ban practice after Philadelphia and New Jersey, with New York introducing similar legislation. Critics argue for the exercise d Discriminate against lower-income customers who may not be able to get credit or debit cards. 1[ads1]7 percent of African-American households and 15 percent of Latino households do not have a bank account, according to the examiner, referring to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation data.