Assembly BillIntroduced
A 2540: Prohibits food-service and retail establishments from refusing to accept cash as payment for goods or services; calls for a civil fine if an establishment should refuse cash as payment.
What A 2540 does, verified January 8, 2026
The bill aims to prohibit retail establishments from refusing to accept payment in cash from consumers. It defines a "food-service establishment" as one that sells or offers food or beverages for consumption, and a "retail establishment" as one that sells consumer commodities or provides services to consumers at retail. Violating this law results in a civil penalty of up to $25,000 for each violation. The department of labor is responsible for implementing and enforcing this law. The law takes effect immediately.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: referred to consumer affairs and protection (2026-01-07)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to consumer affairs and protection |
| Jan. 17, 2025 | referred to consumer affairs and protection |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, January 17, 2025 · 310 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2540 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 17, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SAYEGH, GLICK, DeSTEFANO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting retail establishments from refusing to accept payment in cash The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 2 396-ii to read as follows: 3 § 396-ii. Cashless policies prohibited. a. As used in this section, 4 the following terms shall have the following meanings: 5 (i) "Food-service establishment" shall mean an establishment which 6 gives or offers for sale food or beverages to the public for consumption 7 or use on or off the premises. 8 (ii) "Retail establishment" shall mean an establishment in which 9 consumer commodities are sold, displayed or offered for sale, or which 10 provides services to consumers at retail. 11 b. It shall be unlawful for a food-service establishment or a retail 12 establishment, as policy, to refuse to accept payment in cash from 13 consumers. 14 c. A food-service establishment or retail establishment violating this 15 section is liable for a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five 16 hundred dollars for the first violation and a civil penalty of not more 17 than five thousand dollars for each succeeding violation. 18 d. The department of labor may promulgate such rules as it deems 19 necessary to implement and enforce this section. 20 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04264-01-5
Text of A 2540 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions