Denied using $100 notes

News: Registration is free here at the CPMF!

If you are Canadian you see this all the time the sign the reads " We regret that we can no longer accept older $50 and $100 bills"

We all understand why they do this but is it legal?

Is not the onus on the retailer to prove the note is faux before refusing it?

I was under the impression that they must take it if possible by law.

I am interested in your thoughts.

I think this article here answers the question pretty well.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=527ace7b-0465-4d2a-9a06-0c0d7a887afe

If you are Canadian you see this all the time the sign the reads " We regret that we can no longer accept older $50 and $100 bills"

We all understand why they do this but is it legal?

Is not the onus on the retailer to prove the note is faux before refusing it?

I was under the impression that they must take it if possible by law.

I am interested in your thoughts.

No business is required to accept any certain type of payment if they do not want to.

This would be their part in "not" completing the contract of a sale.
Meaning, there would still be no contract to begin with, until they accept a form of payment (at their discretion).

God Bless -
H

The link to the topic Brent had posted was a very good short article that was worth the read.  I was on the other side of the fence believing that by law they had to accept the funds, but again I was wrong!

I can see why places don't want to have a big cash float on hand, it just says rob me again and again.  But when using large bills at a big chain store that passes millions through there tills each and every year would have some knowledge or have some type of technology in place to help protect against these fake notes.  Even in my small town of 3000 people I know of a couple places that scan every bill with a light to check for a fake.  I can't believe with all the money in those big box stores they don't have something better in place for such a problem. I believe the lights to check your bills with that the 2 places in my town only cost about 50.00 dollars?? It should be a must for any business small or large..

 Jeff

I was at a local Irving Mainway store last August, and beginning on August 25, that particular Irving location no longer accepts any $100 bills - not even the latest issue.  It's possible that all Irving Mainway locations in my hometown may be universal with that policy now - seeing all the horrific news of armed robberies in recent years.

Wait a minute... Stores are still refusing even newer $100s?  Are stores that gullible to believe a $100 bill of the 2004 issue can be counterfeited easily despite the security features?

Then again, they probably no longer accept them due to security reasons - not just counterfeiting, but in an effort to combat possible robberies.  Besides, $100 bills are mainly used for rent payments, car loan payments, payments on big-ticket items, etc.  People nowadays pay for groceries with plastic debit cards most of the time, or they rely on $20s.  They are usually uncertain how much money they may spend on groceries (they may spend $40, they may spend $60, etc.), so they just go to the nearest ATM and take out the cash in $20s.  Most supermarkets do have onsite ATMs (my neighbourhood supermarket does have a Scotiabank ATM onsite, btw).

To sum it up:  merchants don't want to take any risks, so they still treat $100 bills with a grain of salt regardless if they are current or new issue, and regardless of any circumstance.

Some counties are more advanced than others on those things.
A number of years go I was in Europe and almost every store till had a built-in black light that the teller used to scan EVERY bill before they went into the till!
That took only a faction of a second.
The euro notes come from 5 to 500.
I did not run into a single case were cash was refused.

I was once refused a $20 bill for gas at 2 in the morning because I looked "funny". Ie: I looked like a hobo: I had run out of shaving cream and the wind/snow had messed up my hair.