Keep the change: New York bans c

Keep the change: New York bans cashless businesses

• change n. 钱；改变，变革；替代

  
  change 做名词的多种含义

Many businesses prefer customers to pay using a bank card or mobile phone—and for good reason.

Going cashless speeds up checkouts and can reduce theft and inefficiency.

• speed up 加速
• checkout n. 结账

But retailers in New York will soon no longer be able to demand that customers tap or swipe.

The city’s council has passed a measure forcing businesses to accept cash, and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office says it will shortly become law.

One in nine New York households has no bank account, and one in five uses alternative banking such as check-cashing stores, with blacks particularly affected.

• one in nine 九分之一

The bill’s lead sponsor says he wants to rein in “the excesses of the digital economy” by fining businesses that “discriminate against customers who lack access to credit and debit”.

The backlash against a cash-free economy is gaining momentum: Philadelphia and San Francisco passed similar bans last year, and Washington’s city council is also pondering whether to follow suit.

• backlash （对社会变动等的）强烈抵制
• follow suit 仿效,照此办理

Feb 17th 2020