Sen. James Manning, a Eugene Democrat, said he recently bought a drink at an event at a downtown Portland hotel. He tried to pay with cash.
“They said they don’t accept cash,” Manning recalled. “And I’m like ‘What do you mean you don’t accept cash?’ I thought we did a bill that ‘cash is king’ in Oregon … So I tried to talk to them.”
Manning was referring to his chief sponsorship of a bill that was signed into law in 2022 and requires virtually all Oregon businesses to accept good old fashioned paper money and coins as payments. He said he told the hotel employees about it, but the answer was still a hard no.
And so Manning is back at this legislative session with a new bill, Senate Bill 1176, that builds on the old one by requiring the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries to launch an advertising and educational campaign to persuade businesses that they must allow customers to pay with cash or coins.
There are some exceptions. Businesses aren’t required to accept cash for purchases that exceed $100, internet transactions and street-parking pay stations, to name a few. Legislators say businesses such as the Moda Center in Portland also have taken advantage of a go-around that allows a business who don’t want the hassle of dealing with cash at every point of sale to offer patrons a fee-free debit card that they load up with cash upon arrival, use throughout their visit and then can retrieve the remainder balance, if there is one, upon departure.
Many businesses have increasingly moved to mostly or all-plastic and electronic payment systems to avoid the extra work of counting, storing and depositing cash into their bank accounts, lessening the chance of employee theft and reducing the likelihood that they’ll be robbed.
But proponents of allowing customers the option of paying with cash say not everyone has the means to open a bank account or get approved for a credit card. About 4% of U.S. households don’t have a bank account and at least 16% don’t have a credit card, according to a 2023 survey by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. On top of that, households with less than $50,000 in annual income used cash for 28% of their payments. The percentage is slashed by more than half for wealthier households, according to a 2024 Federal Reserve Financial Services report.
Manning said the original 2022 bill was based on businesses, like a local fast food restaurant, refusing to accept cash for any purchase, even a single hamburger.
This year’s bill easily passed the Senate with a 23-3 vote earlier this month. The House Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee held a public hearing Thursday.
The Bureau of Labor & Industries estimates it can absorb the costs of devoting a half-time employee to carrying out the provisions of the bill — by hosting educational events, producing educational materials and investigating and processing complaints and violations.
“The real purpose behind this is not to punish any of the establishments,” Manning said. “It’s just to make sure that they understand that … cash is still acceptable here in America.”
— Aimee Green is covering the Oregon Legislature this session. Reach her at 503-294-5119, agreen@oregonian.com or on Bluesky.