Kids these days are paying for all kinds of stuff with their phones.
Imagine that sentence 15 years ago. Paying for things? With a phone? You mean, calling in a payment? Asking an operator for a deadline extension?
Things are changing rapidly in this world. Maybe too rapidly.
Some businesses (a small number, for now) are looking at doing away with cash. Entirely.
Well, the New York City Council has just made it illegal for businesses to go cashless. Here's more from The New York Times:
"The City Council approved legislation on Thursday that prohibits stores, restaurants and other retail outlets from refusing to accept hard currency. The measure puts New York at the forefront of a national movement to rein in so-called cashless businesses: New Jersey, Philadelphia and San Francisco all approved such bans last year, and several other cities are considering similar moves."
We get it. Some people still like being able to pull out a couple of bills to pay for dinner. (Though in New York, it's probably a couple of $100 bills.) But having a government, even a city government, tell businesses what form of payment they must accept is a little too micromanaging, no?
If some businesses find they can speed up customer serving times by getting rid of cash and cashiers, then let them try. If that's their business model, have at it. If their customers like it--or if their customers don't mind--then to each (business) its own. What does a city council have to do with it?
Such a question might bring strange looks in New York City, where governments have tried to restrict cola sizes before. We hope all that coastal thinking doesn't make it to Arkansas anytime soon. We like our government like we like our slip differentials: limited.
Editorial on 01/27/2020