A proposal to ban cashless establishments in Evanston is heading to City Council after Councilmember Devon Reid said businesses that don’t accept cash are inequitable.
“There are about (5.9 million American households that) are unbanked and that represents that (4.5%) of any community is unbanked so this makes sure to protect folks who are undocumented, low-income and homeless,” Reid said. “This makes sure that those folks still have access to the resources they need.”
Reid used American Civil Liberty Union data to support his referral. Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at ACLU, wrote a report highlighting how cashless facilities are harmful to consumers’ privacy, low-income populations, people of color, merchants and more.
“When you pay cash, there is no middleman; you pay, you receive goods or services — end of story,” Stanley wrote. “When a middleman becomes part of the transaction, that middleman often gets to learn about the transaction — and under our weak privacy laws, has a lot of leeway to use that information as it sees fit.”
The referral would also require food and retail establishments to charge the same price for goods regardless of payment method.
Councilmember Krissie Harris agreed with Reid, saying, “I do believe (cashless establishments are) discriminatory in practice because it disenfranchises those who do not have the access, ability and capability to have bank accounts, Apple Pay or (other cashless payment methods) so I am fully in support of this.”
Those opposed to the referral believe it would increase labor demands, make businesses vulnerable to counterfeit bills and more susceptible to robbery.
“We’re short-staffed like everybody. It’s faster getting people through the line and if someone comes in with cash, we accommodate and tell them it’s not something we take,” Ellen King, co-owner of Hewn Bread, said. “It takes longer, sometimes banks don’t have change for us and (there’s been) several instances of getting counterfeit bills and then the bank won’t take it and we’re out.”
King said Hewn Bread went cashless in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and found it helped smooth operations. She also said being cashless makes robbing her business less attractive because there is no cash to steal.
Reid said other Evanston businesses have been robbed for physical goods and questions if being cashless significantly impacts retail theft.
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The referral would impose up to a $1,000 fine for the first offense and up to a $1,500 fine after the first offense. Evanston would enforce the policy through 311 complaints, according to the referral.
The committee unanimously advanced Reid’s referral to the City Council and if approved would likely go into effect during 2023.
If City Council approves the proposal, Evanston would join a growing list of municipalities banning cashless establishments, including San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York City. These restrictions go back multiple decades with Massachusetts having banned cashless establishments in 1978.
Corey Schmidt is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.