WASHINGTON - s4story -- A broad spectrum of consumer representatives and businesses committed to preserving the right of American consumers to pay with cash has announced formation of the Consumer Choice in Payment Coalition (CCPC). The purpose of the coalition is to advocate for the continued availability of cash as a payment option for consumers throughout the U.S.

Numerous organizations have already signed on as members of the coalition, including consumer advocacy groups such as the Consumer Federation of America and Consumer Action; manufacturers of cash-handling and processing hardware such as Hyosung USA, Genmega, Triton Systems, and Diebold Nixdorf; and national trade associations including The National ATM Council, Inc. (NAC), the National Armored Car Association (NACA), the Independent Armored Car Operators Association (IACOA), the Secure Cash & Transport Association (SCTA), The Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA), and Financial Service Centers of America (FISCA).

Among the coalition's top national legislative priorities is supporting passage of the Payment Choice Act of 2019 (H.R. 2650).  This important bipartisan bill, introduced in Congress last year by Rep. Donald M. Payne Jr. (D-NJ), has 38 co-sponsors, both Republicans and Democrats, and is poised to move forward through the legislative process once things return to the new normal on Capitol Hill. Upon enactment, the law would maintain nationwide acceptance of cash payments for consumer purchases of goods and services at brick-and-mortar retail outlets.

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"We're most encouraged to see such widespread bipartisan support for the Payne bill," said Bruce Renard, Executive Director of coalition member The National ATM Council, Inc. "This law will establish sound and consistent guidelines to help preserve a nationwide option for consumers to pay with cash."

Protecting the cash payment option has already generated widespread public support across the country. Within the past two years, the state of New Jersey, and major cities including New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco have all enacted laws requiring retail providers of goods and services to maintain a cash payment option for consumers.

"We believe it is critical to ensure cash remains a universally available payment option for consumers throughout the nation," said Linda Sherry, of the Consumer Action national advocacy group, another CCPC member. According to Consumer Action, as well as the Consumer Federation of America and other noted payment-choice advocates, cashless enterprises lock out many millions of unbanked and underbanked Americans, while eroding the fundamental consumer freedom to rely upon cash for payment anywhere in the USA.

The CCPC recently issued a statement regarding cash safety during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The statement pointed to information available in current scientific literature showing cash is as safe to use as other available payment methods, such as plastic cards or mobile phones – so long as standard public health recommendations about washing hands and not touching one's face are followed.

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Availability of cash payments remains extremely important during times of natural disasters and other emergencies. It has proven essential during network system outages, when electronic payments frequently are inoperable. American citizens also appreciate the privacy and personal freedoms and protections cash affords for their individual spending decisions and purchasing data. These concerns will be of growing importance as data-driven marketing becomes ever more intrusive and pervasive, compounding the risks of identity theft and data breaches that expose personal information.

For more information about the CCPC, its members, and the fight to maintain consumer payment choices in the United States, visit us online at https://www.cash-choice.org/.