Payment Choice Act of 2025

The Payment Choice Act of 2025 aims to ensure that United States currency is widely accepted as legal tender for goods and services at physical retail locations. It establishes a federal requirement that businesses accepting in-person payments must accept cash as a form of payment for sales made at such locations, specifically for amounts up to and including $500 per transaction. Furthermore, the bill prohibits these businesses from charging cash-paying customers a higher price compared to customers using other payment methods. The legislation outlines specific exceptions to this mandate. Businesses are not required to accept cash during temporary system failures or if they temporarily have insufficient cash on hand to make change. An exception also applies if a business provides customers with a device on-site that converts cash into a prepaid card, provided there are no fees for its use, no minimum deposit over one dollar, funds do not expire (except for specific inactivity fees), and no personal identifying information is collected. For a five-year period, businesses are not obligated to accept $50 bills or any larger denominations. After this period, the Secretary of the Treasury will issue a rule, which must ensure the acceptance of $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills. The bill also establishes an enforcement framework, allowing aggrieved customers to pursue civil actions for violations, seeking actual damages, liquidated damages, and civil penalties, with potential attorney's fees for the prevailing party.