” Legal Tender ” Does *Not* Mean that You Must Accept Cash

This post about legal tender is a bit off-topic for this blog. However, I am writing it because it clears up a common misunderstanding, about which I recently wrote on Quora. Please see On every US dollar bill the message “This note is legal tender for all debts public and private” is printed. How is it then legal for some businesses to not accept cash? The U.S. Department of the Treasury discusses whether the “ legal tender ” language on U.S. currency requires that cash payments be accepted. Quoting a portion of Legal Tender Status (link and emphasis added): The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled “Legal tender,” which states: “United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues.”…

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