A new Washington, D.C., bill is aiming to combat high crime rates by allowing restaurants, bars and other retail stores to go cashless.
The bill seeks to provide exemptions to a previously established law prohibiting retail establishments from rejecting cash payments.
City Council member Christina Henderson told Fox News Digital that businesses primarily reject cash payments to protect their employees.
“Much of the present crime and safety concerns for our retailers involve them being targets of robbery and theft. Going cash free seems to be an obvious choice in response to these crimes, to mitigate opportunities for those wishing to take advantage of cash being held on the premises of these retailers,” she said.
Henderson, along with City Council members Brooke Pinto and Matthew Frumin, introduced the Entertainment Establishment Employee Safety Amendment Act of 2024 on Tuesday.
The bill seeks to exempt Class C and D alcohol license holders from being required to accept cash as payment. It qualifies Class C alcohol license holders as “restaurants, hotels, taverns, nightclubs, and other entertainment venues” that sell spirits, beer and wine.
“The Entertainment Establishment Employee Safety Amendment Act of 2024 was introduced as a solution to the Nightlife Council and the Restaurant Association’s request for legislation to help protect their establishments, staff, and customers,” Henderson told Fox News Digital.
The bill says, “Many businesses, particularly those that sell alcohol, are concerned for their employees’ safety and have shared multiple stories about successful and attempted robberies and burglaries. Businesses that are cashless are not at risk of robbery in the same way as businesses with cash on hand.”
It continues, “The primary reason establishments choose to avoid cash payments is to reduce the risk of robbery and burglary, followed by the availability of non-cash payment options and to reduce the risk of internal theft.”
The bill has been referred to the Committee of the Whole with comments from the Committee on Business and Economic Development ahead of its first reading.
D.C. previously passed the Cashless Retailers Prohibition Act in 2020 which prohibited retail stores from discriminating against cash payments. A provision was added in 2024 to pause implementing the law due to “public safety concerns.” The provision is set to expire on January 1, 2025.
Other cities such as New York City and San Francisco previously banned cashless stores, claiming that they are unfair to customers who prefer or can only pay in cash.
However, businesses in cities like Oakland have banned cash payments to battle rising crime rates.
