Interesting. I've visited there a bunch of times and never had an issue using cash. I have a bunch of family there and will ask them if they see the same thing (Seattle is a pretty big town).
Do you care that stores make it hard to use cash?
I'd expect that many folks in Seattle are "unbanked" and are often inconvenienced and/or excluded by such practices.
Perhaps it's time for Seattle to move into the late 20th century[0] and require businesses to accept cash:
"New York City Council member Ritchie Torres last week proposed legislation that would require all local businesses to accept cash in addition to credit cards and contactless payment methods. Massachusetts has required since 1978 that no retailer "shall discriminate against a cash buyer by requiring the use of credit." New Jersey lawmakers on Monday advanced a bill to ban cashless stores. Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. have also introduced bills that would require businesses to accept cash."
The NYC legislation[1] mentioned above as a proposal was passed by the city council in 2020.
It isn't a majority of stores or anything, however there are enough places that I've started to notice.
I wonder if the move away from cash is an attempt to reduce the risk of theft, but I have no direct knowledge of the situation.
Even the local (large, very large) Chinese supermarket is mostly cash-less. I presume technically they take cash, but every checkout line that is staffed says "card only".
Interesting. I've visited there a bunch of times and never had an issue using cash. I have a bunch of family there and will ask them if they see the same thing (Seattle is a pretty big town).
Do you care that stores make it hard to use cash?
I'd expect that many folks in Seattle are "unbanked" and are often inconvenienced and/or excluded by such practices.
Perhaps it's time for Seattle to move into the late 20th century[0] and require businesses to accept cash:
"New York City Council member Ritchie Torres last week proposed legislation that would require all local businesses to accept cash in addition to credit cards and contactless payment methods. Massachusetts has required since 1978 that no retailer "shall discriminate against a cash buyer by requiring the use of credit." New Jersey lawmakers on Monday advanced a bill to ban cashless stores. Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. have also introduced bills that would require businesses to accept cash."
The NYC legislation[1] mentioned above as a proposal was passed by the city council in 2020.
[0] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cashless-retailers-penalize-the...
[1] https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3...