New York’s ban against cashless businesses, which lawmakers said discriminated against low-income consumers less likely to have a credit card or bank account, is being tested by the fast-delivery groceries that flooded neighborhoods during the pandemic.
New York households had no bank account, and those residents were more likely to be poor, unemployed and Black or Latino.
“It’s such a classist and elitist way of running a business, but I guess Van Leeuwen would rather pay the fine of breaking NYC law rather than pay whatever fees come with taking cash,” said Saoirse Dempsey, a 20-year-old college student who tried -- and failed -- to pay with cash at a Van Leeuwen ice cream shop in Greenpoint in June.
Van Leeuwen representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Cashless businesses, particularly at the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, have touted the health benefits of “touchless” transactions, and also the safety, security and savings of not having to handle cash.
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