Philadelphia Is First U.S. City to Ban Cashless Stores

Philadelphia will be the first major U.S. to ban cashless stores, sparking the discussion over retail innovation and legislators that want to protect the average consumer.

Beginning in July of 2019, this law would require most retail stores to accept cash and not just card payment. This legislation is responding to the possible acceleration of cashless Amazon retail stores; widening the gap of low-income customers and those that can afford the technological advances that these types of stores provide. Most proponents of this law believe that it would benefit people that don’t have debit or credit cards and those that respect privacy. In addition, a spokesman of Mayor Jim Kenney reported that 26% of residents live below the poverty line and don’t have bank accounts. However, this law has faced opposition from city officials and other retail organizations. Amazon expressed concerned in that this law would impact their ability to even opening their cashless convenience stores as their payments are received electronically. Also, the National Retail Federation believes that businesses should get to decide what payment methods they will use instead of being forced under a bill.

While most local businesses understand the importance of the new bill, some are realizing that businesses could be leading toward a cashless society. However, this new bill is not going a vital factor in whether the business is going to succeed.

This article relates to marketing in that on one side, making business have to use a cash option can hinder businesses ability to gauge their products if they were only planning to use card options. On the other hand, this law could allow products to be made more available to low-income consumers and more accessible through different locations. Furthermore, it could allow businesses to promote in areas where the demographic uses more cash to attract more customers. I found this article interesting because it is catering to the community in a positive way. As a significant portion of Philadelphia is below poverty, I believe that it is important to create balance over different classes so that everyone can benefit from the same products. 

Link to article 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/philadelphia-is-first-u-s-city-to-ban-cashless-stores-11551967201?ns=prod/accounts-wsj