Payment Choice Act of 2025

The Payment Choice Act of 2025 establishes cash as the required payment option for in-person purchases at brick-and-mortar retailers, with a specific limit: retailers must accept US currency for sales at a physical location up to $500 per transaction and must not charge cash-paying customers more than non-cash paying customers. The bill also creates exceptions (for example, during system failures or if a store uses a compliant cash-to-prepaid-device on premises) and sets rules around how such devices may operate. It introduces a 5-year window during which businesses are not required to accept $50 and larger bills, after which a rule would require acceptance of $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills. It includes enforcement tools (private civil actions, penalties, and possible Attorney General involvement), rulemaking authority for the Secretary of the Treasury, annual ATM distribution reporting by federal regulators, and protections for states with stricter consumer laws. In short, the bill aims to curb cashless retail practices by mandating cash acceptance for most in-person transactions, delineating the use and limitations of cash-to-prepaid devices, and providing a formal enforcement and oversight framework to ensure compliance.