All retailers are required to accept cash payments.
Under the law, a person selling or offering for sale goods or services at retail cannot:
- Refuse to accept cash as a form of payment for the goods or services,
- Post signs stating that cash payment is not accepted, or
- Charge a customer paying cash a higher price than a customer would pay using any other form of payment, for example, a credit card.
“At retail” includes any retail transaction handled in person, unless one of these exceptions applies:
- by telephone, mail or the Internet
- for parking at a parking lot or a parking garage
- at a wholesale club that sells consumer goods and services through a membership model
- at a retail store selling consumer goods exclusively through a membership model that requires payment using an affiliated cellphone application
- when renting goods or services if collateral or security is typically required, for example, renting a car
- for consumer goods or services provided exclusively to employees and individuals other than customers
If a business does not meet one of these exceptions, it must accept cash. Making an ATM or a reverse-ATM available to a customer does not comply with the law because the business must accept cash. Note: a reverse-ATM is where you deposit cash into a machine and receive a debit card for the amount you deposited. For a copy of the law, please see Section 21a-434 of the Connecticut General Statutes.
Refusing to accept cash at retail may also be an unfair or deceptive trade practice under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.