§ 396-II — Cashless policies prohibited

* § 396-ii. Cashless policies prohibited. a. As used in this section,\nthe following terms shall have the following meanings:\n (i) "Cash" means United States coins and currency, including federal\nreserve notes. Cash does not include foreign currency; any paper\ninstrument other than a federal reserve note, including, but not limited\nto, any check, bond, or promissory note; or any foreign metal coin.\n (ii) "Consumer commodity" means any article, good, merchandise,\nproduct or commodity of any kind or class produced, distributed or\noffered for retail sale for consumption by individuals, or for personal,\nhousehold or family purposes.\n (iii) "Food store" means an establishment which gives or offers for\nsale food or beverages to the public for consumption or use on or off\nthe premises, or on or off a pushcart, stand or vehicle.\n (iv) "Retail establishment" means an establishment wherein consumer\ncommodities are sold, displayed or offered for sale, or where services\nare provided to consumers at retail. This definition does not include\nbanks or trust companies as such terms are defined in section two of the\nbanking law.\n b. It shall be unlawful for a food store or a retail establishment to\nrefuse to accept payment in cash from consumers, provided that such food\nstore or retail establishment may refuse to accept payment:\n (i) In cash bills denominated above twenty dollars; or\n (ii) In cash for any telephone, mail, or internet-based transaction,\nunless the payment for such transaction takes place on the premises of\nsuch food store or retail establishment.\n c. No food store or retail establishment shall charge a higher price\nfor the same consumer commodity to a consumer who pays in cash than to a\nconsumer who pays for such commodity through a cash-less transaction.\n d. A food store or retail establishment that violates this section is\nliable for a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for the\nfirst violation and a civil penalty of not more than one thousand five\nhundred dollars for each succeeding violation.\n e. (i) This section shall not apply to a food store or retail\nestablishment that provides a device on premises that converts cash,\nwithout charging a fee or requiring a minimum deposit amount greater\nthan one dollar, into a prepaid card that allows a consumer to complete\na transaction at such food store or retail establishment.\n (ii) Upon request, such device shall provide each consumer with a\nreceipt indicating the amount of cash such consumer deposited onto the\nprepaid card.\n (iii) Cash deposits onto such a prepaid card shall not be subject to\nan expiration date and there shall be no limit on the number of\ntransactions that may be completed on such prepaid card.\n (iv) In the event that such device malfunctions, the food store or\nretail establishment where such device is located shall accept payment\nin cash from consumers throughout the time period in which such device\ndoes not function in accordance with the standards set forth in this\nsection. Such food store or retail establishment shall place a\nconspicuous sign on or immediately adjacent to such device indicating\nthat such food store or retail establishment is required by law to\naccept cash if such device malfunctions, and that consumers may report\nany violation to the department of state division of consumer\nprotection. The department of state may establish by rule additional\nrequirements relating to such signs and the display of such signs.\n * NB Effective March 21, 2026\n