Ticket counters not accepting cash?

[jiml]

Governments, and banks to a lesser degree, would be very happy if cash went away everywhere. It's hard to tax, hard to count, hard to store, etc.

 

[hlcteacher]

i will always prefer CASH..those "vanilla" cards do not work everywhere

 

[lonewolfette9847]

I don't see why in this day and age we can't go cashless. You can buy a Visa Vanilla card with cash and use it for transactions quite easily. You don't need a credit score to get one. However, there are many times when cash does come in handy: at bars so you can control how much you spend on booze (I've seen some huge bar bills), quick transactions at convenience stores and maybe the post office to buy stamps. The airlines have installed machines where you can buy a card to pay for a plane ticket, and I don't see why Amtrak couldn't do the same for those few that really want to pay cash for their $356 ticket.

From a banking standpoint, non-customers wouldn’t be able to cash checks. Also, there’s rural cities & towns that really aren’t in the 21st century yet. We’re getting there, but I don’t see an all cashless society any time soon. Still too much cash going in & out of banks.

I don’t mind not needing cash for everything, but sometimes I just don’t want to use a card, debit or credit. My shorter train jaunts usually require a bunch of one dollar bills & coinage.

 

[joelkfla]

There's also the matter of gambling. The terms of most credit cards prohibit use of the cards for gambling.

I haven't been to a casino in years, but I do have to pay cash for my Bingo cards at local senior centers & fraternal organizations, and for lotto tickets at local markets.

 

[me_little_me]

You're missing the point. United Airlines does not care if you want to pay with cash. United Airlines only cares that your decision to pay with cash puts them in a position where they must flag your purchase and can be fined if they fail to report the details of every cash sale in a timely fashion. As a result United Airlines (and many others) now prevents you from paying with cash to avoid the liability altogether. The government's pretense that paying with cash equals terrorism, trafficking, and money laundering is exposed as nonsense by the fact that airports are allowed to sell you a piece of plastic that avoids extra scrutiny but nets a tidy profit for another previously unnecessary middleman.

I did not miss the point. I mentioned nothing about the airlines being responsible for that. You are correct in that it is the government and in fact it was mentioned by you in the quoted comment. I didn't mention that because I thought it was obvious from your quote. Businesses rarely care about who they get money from and how they get it but they know the government does. I also made no statement to the effect that I agreed with why it was done. I was only trying to explain that it's not just a law against cash per se but a rule that you are suspected of doing something because you pay cash. The 9/11 terrorists and/or others at other times, I believe, paid cash so you are suspected of criminal activity whether or not you are. Similarly, just carrying around large sums can get them seized.

 

[plane2train]

This past April, while aboard train #174 from WAS, the Wifi wasn't working. As a result, the cashless lounge car was 'out of business' for the duration. Only after numerous complaints and a new onboard crew at NYP, they FINALLY got it fixed about Stamford. Or, perhaps, they took my advice and simply converted their cellphone to a single user Wifi hot spot like I did to use my laptop.

I would anticipate the same lack/spotty of Wifi service found on western LD trains and the Capitol Ltd WAS-PGH will be a limitation of the 'cashless' craze aboard Amtrak.

I don’t see why they couldn’t run manual credit card slips as needed. These days, you’re just as helpless as you want to be it seems.

 

[plane2train]

I don't see how my decision to pay with cash impacts you in any way whatsoever.


This is apparently due to a law that forces US airlines to flag and report cash sales which does not apply to Amtrak.

But cash is a huge burden on employees; if you’re caught short one too many times, you can get disciplined or fired. The stuff is covered in germs and gets under and over counted way too easily. With credit cards, you just have to swipe the thing, and the system charges and collects the exact amount. Much cleaner and easier to deal with and with far less manpower. Airlines have always had to report large cash transactions, especially for international flights; getting rid of cash is just easier on employees and resources used to handle it.

 

[caravanman]

While I am not one of those "conspiracy theory" folk, I do believe that organisations should just mind their own business... I think this may be behind some folks reluctance to give up cash?
Paying by card leaves an electronic trail of my whereabouts and activities. Not a massive issue, but one that paying cash avoids. (So long as I don't use my laptop, phone, etc, etc... )

 

[Devil's Advocate]

But cash is a huge burden on employees; if you’re caught short one too many times, you can get disciplined or fired.

If elementary school math is a "huge burden" to a working age employee maybe they should stick with manual labor.

The stuff is covered in germs and gets under and over counted way too easily.

So don't use it then. That's your choice. It's only when you push to take my choices away that we have a problem.

With credit cards, you just have to swipe the thing, and the system charges and collects the exact amount. Much cleaner and easier to deal with and with far less manpower.

So swipe away and be happy your solution is available rather than push to take options away from others.

 

[flitcraft]

Paying by card leaves an electronic trail of my whereabouts and activities. Not a massive issue, but one that paying cash avoids.

Which is why the first rule in Affairs 101 is always pay for hotel rooms in cash. (Not that I know from personal experience... )

 

[Barb Stout]

Cash purchase of tickets was supposed to be for untraceability, some thing that various nefarious folks pine for apparently, and hence are supposed to be reported to the security systems like CAPS II and such for tracking and tracing, and usually it will earn you an SSSS on your boarding card if not an outright denial of boarding, depending on the security level active at the time.

What does SSSS stand for? Something tells me it's not Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome. I love acronyms and the fun they can engender!

 

[jis]

What does SSSS stand for? Something tells me it's not Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome. I love acronyms and the fun they can engender!

You are given special exclusive attention, a personal massage and more at the Security checkpoint, including a hand search of your bag.

 

[flitcraft]

It stands for Secondary Security Screening Selection, and it means your bags will be opened and everything in them closely examined and you will get an "enhanced" patdown of your person, which leaves nothing to the imagination of the pat-down performer. I got SSSS once when I had to buy a new ticket at the airport when my flight was cancelled and replaced with a flight the next morning. I opted to buy a ticket on a flight that would get me to my destination the same day on a different airline, and lo and behold! got the dreaded SSSS on my new boarding pass.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

It stands for Secondary Security Screening Selection, and it means your bags will be opened and everything in them closely examined and you will get an "enhanced" patdown of your person, which leaves nothing to the imagination of the pat-down performer. I got SSSS once when I had to buy a new ticket at the airport when my flight was cancelled and replaced with a flight the next morning. I opted to buy a ticket on a flight that would get me to my destination the same day on a different airline, and lo and behold! got the dreaded SSSS on my new boarding pass.

Does it make you feel safer?

 

[jis]

It stands for Secondary Security Screening Selection, and it means your bags will be opened and everything in them closely examined and you will get an "enhanced" patdown of your person, which leaves nothing to the imagination of the pat-down performer. I got SSSS once when I had to buy a new ticket at the airport when my flight was cancelled and replaced with a flight the next morning. I opted to buy a ticket on a flight that would get me to my destination the same day on a different airline, and lo and behold! got the dreaded SSSS on my new boarding pass.

Didn't you give the airline your Trusted Traveler Number? Or perhaps you did not have one?

 

[crescent-zephyr]

If elementary school math is a "huge burden" to a working age employee maybe they should stick with manual labor.

When was the last time you worked as a cashier? It’s no fun being questioned by your boss as though you’re stealing when you come to find out you forgot to check if there were any $100’s under the coin tray that day. Working as a cashier in a cashless environment is way easier and less pressure for a large number of reasons.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Didn't you give the airline your Trusted Traveler Number? Or perhaps you did not have one?

I don’t have one. Does that mean my rights as a citizen of the USA traveling in my own country should be taken away?

“Papers please” aren’t enough to travel by air. “Special papers please!” We are now ok with I guess?

 

[flitcraft]

Didn't you give the airline your Trusted Traveler Number? Or perhaps you did not have one?

This was before Pre-check and Global Entry. Back when all animals really were equal. Now, some animals are more equal than others (and I'm now one of them!)

 

[jis]

I don’t have one. Does that mean my rights as a citizen of the USA traveling in my own country should be taken away?

“Papers please” aren’t enough to travel by air. “Special papers please!” We are now ok with I guess?

It was accepted by an unduly scared nation after 9/11, among a lot of other stupid things that came about as a result. Unfortunately it appears to be a package deal

I had to fly within a week of 9/11. Boy that was something ... way worse than an occasional SSSS, which one can avoid with a little planning. Immediately after 9/11 there was no avoiding.

Mind you not defending any of this. I just work things around over and under the system as best as I can. Having been brought up in an overly bureaucratized society makes one develop attitudes and techniques to work the system instead of getting ulcers about it all the time. Each to his or her own.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

It was accepted by a unduly scared nation after 9/11, among a lot of other stupid things that came about as a result. Unfortunately it appears to be a package deal

I had to fly within a week of 9/11. Boy that was something ... way worse than an occasional SSSS, which one can avoid with a little planning. Immediately after 9/11 there was no avoiding.

Mind you not defending any of this. I just work things around over and under the system as best as I can. Having been brought up in an overly bureaucratized society makes one develop attitudes and techniques to work the system instead of getting ulcers about it all the time. Each to his or her own.

Oh I’m with you. I do everything I can to make it an easy experience for myself when traveling. I just don’t agree with it!

 

[me_little_me]

If elementary school math is a "huge burden" to a working age employee maybe they should stick with manual labor.

It's not just that they made a mistake, unlike some people on this forum, but they may have been scammed, they may have been rushed, bills might have been stuck together, it might have been another employee skimming, even their register might have screwed up. But they get blamed and often shamed. even with an advanced degree in engineering, I have made mistakes in simple math - and more than once. I admire you for your better abilities.

 

[Nick Farr]

"Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," states: "United States coins and currency [including Federal Reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal Reserve Banks and national banks] are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues." This statute means that all U.S. money as identified above is a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor."

Just because it is legal tender does not mean it is mandatory for the creditor to accept it as payment. This has always been the case.

The same thing with "cash only" or "cashless" places. Once you place an order, or enter the premises you're bound by the rules set for by the offeror to pay as they would like you to pay.

 

[Nick Farr]

If you have already received the goods or services (so, you've incurred a debt), and did not specifically contract to pay in another form (gold, Bitcoin, Tesla stock, whatever), then you can offer to pay your debt in cash and they have to take it or forgive the debt.

Actually, no. There is no contract law that has been upheld at the Federal level saying that debts are forgiven automatically because the creditor refuses to take cash. (States and localities can do weird things that would probably get overriden in court.)

Tender is the presentation for acceptance. It means it is entirely legal to offer to pay in cash. Tender has never meant compulsory acceptance.

If the contract does not speak to the terms of payment, then it becomes a litigable issue. If a court/magistrate of sufficient jurisdiction feels it is unreasonable for the creditor to not accept cash, then they can nullify the contract but not the debt itself.

 

[PVD]

Anyone who thinks Legal Tender Law means people have to accept cash is sadly mistaken. Go to the US Treasury webpages they will explain that what you think that section of the law means regarding any is not what it really is. Unless there is a local law to the contrary business are free to set payment terms, and you can agree to them or not use the service or complete the transaction. The only thing they can't do is not disclose in advance. Unless local law contradicts businesses are free to reject cash, reject coins, reject certain size bills, and if you don't like it, go elsewhere. It is a bit harsh in some cases, but it is reality.

 

[Nick Farr]

All of that was seriously disputed in court and much of it was thrown out in the lawsuits by the marijuana businesses (who did not have access to checks or cards or wire transfers). Result of the cases: Nope. The IRS has to accept cash payments without charging extra fees or creating extra hassle. The IRS figured out they were going to lose and backed off. The marijuana businesses show up and hand over their large piles of cash at a scheduled date at a specific location to the IRS person authorized to accept it. No daily processing fee. No maximum.

Do you have actual case law on this? Because I cannot find anything to back this up.