I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1138 
To ensure that United States currency is treated as legal tender to be 
accepted as payment for purchases of goods and services at brick-and- 
mortar businesses throughout the United States, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 7, 2025 
Mr. ROSE (for himself, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. KUSTOFF, 
Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. IVEY, Mr. DAVIDSON, and 
Mr. GOTTHEIMER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To ensure that United States currency is treated as legal 
tender to be accepted as payment for purchases of goods 
and services at brick-and-mortar businesses throughout 
the United States, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Payment Choice Act 
of 2025’’. 
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SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that United States cur-
rency should be treated as legal tender throughout the 
United States, and that every consumer should have the 
right to use cash as payment at retail businesses that ac-
cept in-person payments. 
SEC. 3. RETAIL BUSINESSES PROHIBITED FROM REFUSING 
CASH PAYMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 51 of title 
31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘§ 5104. Retail businesses prohibited from refusing 
cash payments 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any person engaged in the busi-
ness of selling or offering goods or services at retail to 
the public who accepts in-person payments at a physical 
location (including a person accepting payments for tele-
phone, mail, or internet-based transactions who is accept-
ing in-person payments at a physical location)— 
‘‘(1) shall accept cash as a form of payment for 
sales made at such physical location in amounts up 
to and including $500 per transaction; and 
‘‘(2) may not charge cash-paying customers a 
higher price compared to the price charged to cus-
tomers not paying with cash. 
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‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 
a person if the person— 
‘‘(1) is unable to accept cash because of— 
‘‘(A) a sale system failure that temporarily 
prevents processing cash payments; or 
‘‘(B) temporarily having insufficient cash 
on hand to make change; or 
‘‘(2) provides customers with a device that con-
verts cash into prepaid cards on the premises if— 
‘‘(A) there is no fee for the use of the de-
vice; 
‘‘(B) the device does not require a min-
imum deposit of more than one dollar; 
‘‘(C) any funds placed onto a prepaid card 
using the device do not expire, except as per-
mitted under subsection (c); 
‘‘(D) the device does not collect any per-
sonal identifying information from the cus-
tomer; and 
‘‘(E) there is no fee to use the prepaid 
card that the device produces. 
‘‘(c) INACTIVITY.—With respect to a prepaid card de-
scribed under paragraph (2), the person providing the 
card may charge an inactivity fee in association with the 
card if— 
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‘‘(1) there has been no activity with respect to 
the card during the 12-month period ending on the 
date on which the inactivity fee is imposed; 
‘‘(2) not more than 1 inactivity fee is imposed 
in any 1-month period; and 
‘‘(3) there is clearly and conspicuously stated, 
on the face of the mechanism that issues the card 
and on the card— 
‘‘(A) that an inactivity fee or charge may 
be imposed; 
‘‘(B) the frequency at which such inactivity 
fee may be imposed; and 
‘‘(C) the amount of such inactivity fee. 
‘‘(d) RIGHT TO NOT ACCEPT LARGE BILLS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 
(a), for the 5-year period beginning on the date of 
enactment of this section, this section does not re-
quire a person or entity to accept cash payments in 
$50 bills or any larger bill. 
‘‘(2) RULEMAKING.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall issue a rule on the date that is 
5 years after the date of the enactment of this 
section with respect to any bill denominations a 
person is not required to accept. 
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‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—When issuing a rule 
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall re-
quire persons to accept $1, $5, $10, and $20 
bills. 
‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) PREVENTATIVE RELIEF.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Whenever any person 
has engaged, or there are reasonable grounds to 
believe that any such person is about to engage, 
in any act or practice prohibited by this section, 
any customer or prospective customer of such 
person aggrieved by such violation or threat-
ened violation may deliver to the person, or 
cause to be so delivered by certified mail, with 
proof of delivery, a notice describing, in reason-
able detail, the conduct or events constituting 
the violation or threatened violation, and giving 
notice that, unless such conduct is corrected or 
cured within 45 days after the date of delivery 
of such notice, a civil action for preventive re-
lief, including an application for a permanent or 
temporary injunction, restraining order, or 
other appropriate such relief, which may include 
a civil penalty as hereinafter provided for, may 
be brought against such person. 
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‘‘(B) RESPONSE; CURE.—If, within the 45- 
day period described under subparagraph (A), 
the person described in that subparagraph es-
tablishes to the customer or prospective cus-
tomer’s reasonable satisfaction, in a response 
provided in writing to the customer or prospec-
tive customer, that no violation occurred as al-
leged, or certifies that the violation alleged has 
been corrected or cured, and provides reason-
able assurance that no such violation henceforth 
will be permitted to occur in the conduct of the 
person’s business, no further proceedings under 
this section may be undertaken. 
‘‘(C) CIVIL ACTION.—If a person described 
under subparagraph (A), having received a no-
tice described in that subparagraph, fails to re-
spond in accordance with subparagraph (B), or 
responds but fails to reasonably establish that 
the violation alleged either did not occur or has 
been corrected or cured, the aggrieved customer 
or prospective customer shall be entitled to file 
a civil action against the person seeking relief 
as provided under this subsection. In any such 
filing, the customer or prospective customer 
shall attach to the complaint in such action cop-
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ies of the notice given to the person pursuant 
to subparagraph (A) and the response, if any, 
received from such person. 
‘‘(2) DAMAGES
AND
CIVIL
PENALTIES.—Any 
person who violates this section shall— 
‘‘(A) be liable for actual damages, together 
with, if actual damages are less than $250, liq-
uidated damages of $250; and 
‘‘(B) a civil penalty of not more than $500 
for a first offense and not more than $1,500 for 
a second or subsequent offense. 
‘‘(3) JURISDICTION.—An action under this sub-
section may be brought in any United States district 
court, or in any other court of competent jurisdic-
tion. 
‘‘(4) INTERVENTION OF ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 
Upon timely application, a court may, in its discre-
tion, permit the Attorney General to intervene in a 
civil action brought under this subsection, if the At-
torney General certifies that the action is of general 
public importance. 
‘‘(5) AUTHORITY TO APPOINT COURT-PAID AT-
TORNEY.—Upon application by an individual and in 
such circumstances as the court may determine just, 
the court may appoint an attorney for such indi-
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vidual and may authorize the commencement of a 
civil action under this subsection without the pay-
ment of fees, costs, or security. 
‘‘(6) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In any action com-
menced pursuant to this subsection, the court, in its 
discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other 
than the United States, a reasonable attorney’s fee, 
not to exceed $3,000 in amount, as part of the costs, 
and the United States shall be liable for costs the 
same as a private person. 
‘‘(7) REQUIREMENTS IN CERTAIN STATES AND 
LOCAL AREAS.—In the case of an alleged act or 
practice prohibited by this section which occurs in a 
State, or political subdivision of a State, which has 
a State or local law prohibiting such act or practice 
and establishing or authorizing a State or local au-
thority to grant or seek relief from such act or prac-
tice or to institute criminal proceedings with respect 
thereto upon receiving notice thereof, no civil action 
may be brought hereunder before the expiration of 
30 days after written notice of such alleged act or 
practice has been given to the appropriate State or 
local authority by registered mail or in person, pro-
vided that the court may stay proceedings in such 
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civil action pending the termination of State or local 
enforcement proceedings. 
‘‘(f) GREATER PROTECTION UNDER STATE LAW.— 
This section shall not preempt any law of a State, the Dis-
trict of Columbia, a Tribal government, or a territory of 
the United States if the protections that such law affords 
to consumers are greater than the protections provided 
under this section. 
‘‘(g) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of the Treasury 
shall issue such rules as the Secretary determines are nec-
essary to implement this section, which may include pre-
scribing additional exceptions to the application of the re-
quirements described in subsection (a).’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
for chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 5103 the 
following: 
‘‘5104. Retail businesses prohibited from refusing cash payments.’’. 
Æ 
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