The federal Civil Rights Act mandates that all persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, and privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.
A business can refuse service as long as their policies aren’t purposely discriminating against a person’s race, religion, sex, or national origin, which owners of cashless institutions would argue their policies aren’t. A number of cities posit their laws as preventing discrimination against low-income people, but low-income people aren’t a protected group.
Where exactly are there businesses that only accept credit? I have lived in Northern New Jersey near New York City my entire life and I have never seen a credit only business even before New Jersey decided to take some action. I have seen cash only businesses and businesses where you need to buy at least a minimum of ten to fifteen dollars worth of stuff before they accepted credit but never a credit only store. Were cashless stores really a trend? Maybe I will see a lot more of this when I go to Sweden in May.