Detroit businesses that don't accept cash could be fined under new ordinance

Detroit ― City Council voted Tuesday to prohibit Detroit businesses from being cashless through an ordinance that includes misdemeanor penalties for establishments that don't accept cash for payment.

The new ordinance would appear to apply to Detroit's largest sports venues, including Little Caesars Arena, Comerica Park and Ford Field, which all have vendors that only accept credit card or electronic payments. Those venues could not be immediately reached Tuesday for comment.

The Cashless Business Ban ordinance was sponsored by District 2 Councilwoman Angela Whitfield Calloway to require all city businesses to accept cash for payment of food, drink, goods and services.

Whitfield Calloway said she pursued the ordinance after she had to abandon a salad at Plum Market on Woodward Avenue in the Ally Detroit Center building — steps from City Hall — because the upscale mini-market's kiosk only accepts credit or debit cards.

"The ordinance is simple: Accept cash," Calloway said. "This will help more than 100,000 un-banked Detroiters. This ordinance is one step in helping the unbanked become full members of the local economy and no Detroiter will be left behind."

More than a dozen public commenters spoke in support Tuesday of requiring businesses in Detroit to accept cash for payment.

"Businesses eliminating cash transactions create a new line of discrimination based on race and class," said Frank Hammer. "Our constitutional rights include any person on U.S. soil to use our currency and we need to defend that."

Under the new ordinance, businesses can have kiosks, but must have an option to accept cash without a minimum purchase amount.

Many occupations still center largely around cash, including those in the service industry and other people who get cash tips. Even the budding legal marijuana business is cash-based because of the difficulties with banking considering that pot is still illegal on a federal level. 

In Southwest Detroit, the Duly's Place coney island on Vernor Highway remains a cash-only restaurant, five years after Lafayette Coney Island in downtown Detroit started accepting credit card payment.

There is no federal law requiring private businesses to accept cash. However, Detroit joins Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, which was the first to ban cash-less businesses.

Mootz Pizzaria + Bar opened on Library Street in downtown Detroit in 2019 as a cash-less business but within six months changed their policy following a column by Detroit News Restaurant Critic Melody Baetens. She pointed out that while cash-less business became a trend that would spike during the pandemic, some customers would be left out.

"It still makes sense because 95% of our business is credit card, and 5% is more work on our business," said Tony Sacco, co-owner of Mootz. "Balancing drawers every night and sometimes people are not always honest... cashless was way more efficient, quick, easy and always accurate. However, it was unpopular and we have to accommodate our residents."

Sacco said the change was made because they didn't want to lose any business and they mainly receive cash as people buy pizza by the slice.

"I'll just say that it was really easy checking out of restaurants at night. We didn't even need a safe, but at the same time, having cash is the right thing to do," Sacco said. "I personally didn't like it when I went to Comerica Park recently and didn't have my credit card and couldn't buy anything."

The new city code would provide penalties and violations to establishments that restrict business to credit or debit card payments. The city law department said Tuesday it will be issuing warnings and business owners who do not comply could face a misdemeanor, which carries a $500 fine.

The misdemeanor would be issued to businesses, not workers. Home-based businesses are not included in the city's definition of retail establishments.

City Council Pro Tem James Tate said he was concerned about small businesses and adding a waiting period of when the enforcement would take place.

"There's no teeth here. Say if we go back into COVID, we need this ordinance to be suspended to accommodate a public health crisis," Tate said.

Whitfield Calloway said 90% of Detroit businesses are already in compliance with the issue.

"I don't foresee this being a problem," Whitfield Calloway said. "Plum Market is willing to be in compliance. Their other locations even at the airport accept cash, it's just a phenomenon in Detroit."

srahal@detroitnews.com