Business-Minded Legal Solutions

The growing presence of cashless businesses

Most people check for at least three things before they leave the house in the morning: car keys, cellphone and their wallet. You probably won’t leave the house until you have all three items ready to go.

However, it’s slowly changing for most young adults; instead of using traditional cash for purchases, they rely on Venmo or ApplePay. Many companies have caught on and switched from money to new digital payments such as PayPal or GooglePay.

But should all businesses go cashless?

Despite the growth of cashless businesses across the country, many critics suggest going cashless isn’t right for most companies.

For example, Visa, the credit card company hosted a cashless competition where 50 restaurants went cashless. The winners received $10,000 and a credit card issuer. While Visa touted the success of the cashless challenge, many of the winners returned to accepting cash after the competition. Concerns about cashless systems range from cybercrime to additional fees incurred for credit card and payment app purchases.

There are also concerns because specific cities or states have passed laws or are proposing legislation to make cash a required tender in retail establishments. Absent specific legislation, generally it is up to each company to decide whether or not to accept cash or digital payments.

While there are benefits to a cashless operation, such as convenience and customer appeal, most business owners find cashless systems are not nuanced enough to warrant ditching cash payments altogether, especially if they have an older target audience.

Even so, business owners are wise to consider incorporating digital wallets into their company’s operation. Entrepreneurs may work with PayPal and GooglePay to set up “Merchant Accounts” and coordinate customers’ transaction online.

In Texas, you may want to work with local banks and the government to comply with all requirements to accept digital payments.

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