Payment Choice Act of 2025

This bill requires brick-and-mortar retail businesses that accept in-person payments to also accept cash as payment for transactions up to $500, and prohibits them from charging cash-paying customers a higher price than other customers. It provides exceptions for temporary system failures or insufficient change, and allows businesses to offer fee-free cash-to-prepaid card conversion devices under certain conditions. The bill also includes enforcement mechanisms, civil penalties, and reporting requirements on ATM locations.

Sec. 3, Retail businesses prohibited from refusing cash payments: Any retail business accepting in-person payments at a physical location must accept cash for transactions up to $500 and cannot charge cash users more. Exceptions apply if a sale system failure temporarily prevents cash processing, or if the business temporarily lacks change. A business may also offer a device that converts cash into a prepaid card on premises with no fee, no minimum deposit over $1, no expiration of funds (except for inactivity fees after 12 months), no collection of personal information, and no fee to use the card. For five years after enactment, businesses are not required to accept $50 or larger bills; after that, the Secretary must issue a rule requiring acceptance of $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills. Enforcement allows aggrieved customers to send a notice to the retailer, and if not resolved within 45 days, file a civil action for actual damages (or $250 liquidated damages if less) and civil penalties up to $500 for a first offense and $1,500 for subsequent offenses. Courts may award attorney's fees up to $3,000. The bill does not preempt stronger state or local consumer protection laws. The Secretary may issue rules for implementation. The FDIC and NCUA must submit annual reports to Congress on the number and location of ATMs owned by insured institutions.