Philadelphia and New Jersey have barred stores from refusing to accept cash as payment, and it’s a troubling trend for Amazon
Massachusetts is something of a first mover on this issue, having barred stores from rejecting cash as payment for decades.
A ban like this would predominantly affect chic lunch spots like Sweetgreen, but also Amazon's nascent physical store footprint. None of Amazon's stores accept cash unless required by law.In fact, the whole point of Amazon Go, the chain's tech-powered cashierless convenience store, is that there's no need to pay a cashier. Customers can just swipe their app and go. The store's cameras and sensors will see what you take and charge you accordingly.
If it becomes law, San Francisco's measure is likely to have the biggest impact on Amazon, as the company operates two Go stores in the city and has a third on the way. An exception for Amazon was removed in the most recent version of the bill.An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment to Business Insider.
Amazon had reportedly expressed concern about the law in Philadelphia, telling the city's department of commerce"several times" that it would not open an Amazon Go store in the city if the law passed,The new law does allow for a store to use only app-based transactions, but only if a paid membership is required to shop there. You don't need a paid Prime membership to shop at Amazon's Go stores — only an Amazon account — eliminating the potential for a loophole.
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