--- title: Are Businesses Required to Accept Cash? In These 10 States, It's the Law description: Under federal law, it's not illegal to refuse cash payments. But 10 states, including New York, Colorado and Maryland, have their own rules. authors: - name: Liliana Hall role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/ bio: Liliana Hall joined Money in 2025. She is an Austin-based reporter for Money, where she covers a range of topics, including financial news, policy, banking, investing, passive income, financial planning and student loan debt. education: University of Texas at Austin at_money_since: 2025 articles: 136 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://x.com/lilihallllllll - https://www.linkedin.com/in/liliana-hall/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2026-09-28T19:40:23.000Z' modified: '2026-09-28T19:40:23.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - News word_count: 1432 canonical: https://money.com/states-that-require-businesses-to-accept-cash/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Cash register and the states](https://img.money.com/2026/09/News-Cash-states-physical.jpg) Starting Thursday, the state of Maryland will require stores to accept cash when selling certain essential goods, including food, medicine and gas. For years, businesses have moved toward cashless payments as credit cards, mobile wallets and other digital payment methods have become more common. That shift accelerated during the pandemic, when retailers rolled out more contactless payment options. But not everyone can — or wants to — pay digitally. And in most states, private businesses can generally decide which forms of payment they do (and don't) accept. That’s because there’s [no federal law](https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/currency_12772.htm) compelling private businesses to accept cash for goods or services. Local laws, however, are a different story. Maryland's new law makes it the 10th state with a requirement for certain businesses to accept cash, joining places like Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York in preserving the payment option. Here’s a look at which states require some businesses to accept cash and what the rules mean for shoppers. ## Colorado Colorado [passed a law](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb21-1048) requiring businesses to accept cash in 2021. The rule applies to retail businesses that accept payments in person. But that doesn't necessarily mean handling bills and coins at the register. Colorado [allows retailers](https://leg.colorado.gov/bill_files/54231/download) to use a cash-to-prepaid-card system instead, as long as customers can convert their cash without a fee and don't have to deposit more than $1. The prepaid funds also can’t expire or be limited to a certain number of transactions, and customers must be able to request a receipt showing how much cash they deposited. Businesses with multiple checkout counters at the same address only need to accept cash at one of them. Banks and credit unions are exempt from the law, as are certain transactions that require a credit card to cover a security deposit or potential damages. Retailers that violate the mandate can face a fine of up to $250 per transaction or attempted transaction. ## Connecticut Connecticut has required retailers to accept cash [since 2021](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2021/sum/pdf/2021SUM00060-R02HB-05312-SUM.pdf), but the state [expanded the rules](https://prdext3.cga.ct.gov/2026/sup/chap_420l.htm) in 2025. Businesses generally can’t refuse cash, post signs saying they don’t accept it or charge customers more for paying with cash. The updated law also lets businesses stay cashless at the register. They can provide a machine that converts cash into a prepaid card. The card can’t have fees, expire or limit the number of transactions, and customers can’t be asked to provide personal information to get one. If the machine stops working, the business has to accept cash until it’s fixed. There are several exceptions, including online, phone and mail purchases, parking, certain membership-based retailers, rentals that typically ask for a deposit and healthcare and professional services. ## Delaware Delaware passed its [cash-payment law](https://delcode.delaware.gov/title6/c025h/index.html) in [2022](https://www.legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail/79143), requiring most retail businesses to accept cash. The law prohibits businesses from charging customers more for paying with cash than they would pay using another form of payment. Delaware gives businesses another option for handling cash transactions. They can provide a machine that lets customers turn cash into a prepaid card, as long as the conversion is free and customers aren’t asked to deposit more than $5. The card also can’t expire or come with a transaction limit. The law also exempts certain businesses and transactions, including those at parking lots and garages, as well as sporting and entertainment events, including music festivals. Businesses that violate the law can face civil penalties of up to $1,000 for a first violation, $1,500 for a second and $2,500 for a third or subsequent violation. ## Maryland Maryland's statewide mandate to accept cash takes effect Thursday. The [law says](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/chapters_noln/Ch_714_hb0191E.pdf) merchants generally can’t refuse cash, make customers use a credit or debit card or charge more for paying with cash when they’re selling essential consumer goods, including food, beverages, personal hygiene products, medicine, medical supplies and fuel. The rule only applies between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. local time and comes with a few exceptions. Businesses can refuse bills larger than $20 or provide a way to convert cash into prepaid cards without a fee. If that machine stops working, though, the business has to accept cash until it’s back up. Merchants must first be given at least two opportunities to comply. After that, they can face a fine of up to $500 for a violation and up to $1,000 for each subsequent violation. ## Massachusetts Massachusetts has had a cash-acceptance rule for certain businesses for nearly 50 years. A 1978 [law](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIII/TitleIV/Chapter255D/Section10A) prohibits retailers from discriminating against cash buyers by forcing customers to use credit and broadly states that retailers must accept legal tender when a customer offers it as payment. The decades-old law has occasionally collided with businesses’ more recent push toward cashless payments. In 2022, for example, the Massachusetts attorney general’s office [reviewed](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/maura-healey-fenway-approved-to-go-cashless/) Fenway Park’s move to cashless concessions. The ballpark was ultimately allowed to keep the system because customers could use cash to load money onto prepaid cards at kiosks inside the park. ## Montana Montana put its [cash law](https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/2024/mca/title_0300/chapter_0140/part_0020/section_0280/0300-0140-0020-0280.html) in place in 2023. The rule applies when a retailer has someone accepting payments in person. Businesses don’t necessarily have to take cash directly at every register. Montana allows them to use a cash-to-prepaid-card system instead, as long as there’s no fee, the minimum deposit is no more than $1 and the funds don’t expire or come with a transaction limit. A business with multiple registers can also comply by accepting cash at just one. There’s a penalty for violations, too. Businesses that don't follow the policy can face up to $100 per violation, as determined by the state’s Department of Justice. ## New Jersey New Jersey passed its own [law](https://pub.njleg.gov/bills/2018/PL19/50_.HTM) in 2019, barring most businesses from refusing cash or requiring customers to pay by credit. The law applies to in-person sales of goods and services, while transactions by phone, mail or online are generally excluded. Businesses that violate the rule can face civil penalties of up to $2,500 for a first offense and $5,000 for a second. However, the law comes with several exceptions. Airport businesses, for example, can go cashless if at least two food sellers in each terminal accept cash. Certain parking facilities and car rental companies are also exempt. In 2021, New Jersey added another exception for sports and entertainment venues with seating for at least 10,000 people. The change came during the pandemic, with the bill’s sponsors arguing that cashless payments could reduce physical contact and shorten lines at concession stands and merchandise shops. ## New York New York’s statewide cash requirement [took effect](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-notifies-new-yorkers-about-new-state-law-requiring-stores) in March 2026, making it illegal for food stores and retail establishments to refuse cash. The law also bars businesses from charging customers more for paying with cash than they would for the same purchase using another payment method. There are a few [exceptions](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/396-II). Stores don’t have to accept bills larger than $20 or cash for purchases made by phone, mail or online. Businesses can also use a machine that converts cash into a prepaid card instead of accepting cash directly, as long as the conversion is free and the minimum deposit is no more than $1. Businesses that violate the law can face civil penalties of up to $1,000 for a first offense and $1,500 for each subsequent violation. ## Oregon Oregon has required most places open to the public to accept cash since 2022. The law generally applies to businesses that sell goods or services and prohibits them from refusing U.S. currency or treating customers differently because they want to pay with cash. As with many states on this list, [businesses in Oregon](https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_659a.410) can avoid having cash at the register by using a system that converts cash into cashless payments, such as a prepaid card or wristband. The conversion and any refund of unused money must be free. Several exemptions apply, including farmers markets, vending machines, transactions on airplanes and electric vehicle charging stations. Businesses can refuse $50 and $100 bills, as well as $100 or more in coins. ## Rhode Island Rhode Island began [requiring](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/rhode-island-retailers-must-take-cash-under-new-law) retail businesses to accept cash in 2019. The law makes it a "deceptive trade practice" to force customers to use credit when paying for goods or services in person, and it requires retailers to accept cash when it is offered as payment. When the legislation was introduced, sponsor Rep. Mia Ackerman, a Democrat, pointed to the growing number of retailers shifting to cashless transactions and argued that the trend could especially impact working-class consumers, older adults and college students without credit cards. "Businesses still have an obligation to be accessible to everybody — not just those who have a credit card," Ackerman [said](https://patch.com/rhode-island/cranston/ri-house-approves-ban-cashless-businesses?) in 2019. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/states-that-require-businesses-to-accept-cash/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Lifestyle", "item": "https://money.com/lifestyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Are Businesses Required to Accept Cash? 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