# 119-hr-1138: Payment Choice Act of 2025

119-hr-1138, Payment Choice Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Rose, John W. [R-TN-6] (R-TN); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1138
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-1138
- Congress: 119
- Title: Payment Choice Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-07
- Sponsor: Rep. Rose, John W. [R-TN-6] (R-TN)
- Cosponsors: 25
- Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

1. **The Hook:** **Protect the right to pay with cash** by requiring most in-person retail sellers to accept cash for purchases up to $500 and barring higher prices just because a customer pays with cash. The bill also sets rules for cash-to-prepaid-card devices and penalties for refusals. 2. **The Impact:** - Consumers and families gain a clear right to use cash at brick-and-mortar stores for transactions up to $500 and cannot be charged more for paying with cash. - Retail businesses that accept in-person payments would have to accept cash up to $500 per transaction, face notice-and-cure procedures, and risk civil penalties up to $500 for a first offense and $1,500 for repeat offenses. - Operators of on-site cash-to-prepaid-card machines can offer them if there is no device fee, deposits are no more than $1, the card balance does not expire, the device does not collect personal data, and reasonable inactivity fees may apply after 12 months with clear disclosure. - Individuals denied cash can seek relief in court after a 45-day cure period, with liquidated damages of $250 if actual damages are lower and an attorney fee cap of $3,000 for prevailing private parties. - Federal law would not block stronger state, District, Tribal, or territorial consumer protections and gives the Treasury Secretary rulemaking authority, including setting which large denominations may be excluded after a five-year phase-in and a required rule on required denominations. 3. The Bottom Line: This bill would create a statutory right to use cash in many retail settings and a private and public enforcement framework without a specified federal cost in the sources provided.

## Cosponsors (25)

- Rep. Norcross, Donald [D-NJ-1] (D-NJ), 2025-02-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29] (D-TX), 2025-02-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kustoff, David [R-TN-8] (R-TN), 2025-02-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3] (D-OH), 2025-02-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] (R-NJ), 2025-02-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ivey, Glenn [D-MD-4] (D-MD), 2025-02-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davidson, Warren [R-OH-8] (R-OH), 2025-02-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ), 2025-02-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fields, Cleo [D-LA-6] (D-LA), 2025-07-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rutherford, John H. [R-FL-5] (R-FL), 2025-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Stutzman, Marlin A. [R-IN-3] (R-IN), 2025-07-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sherman, Brad [D-CA-32] (D-CA), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Tim [R-NC-14] (R-NC), 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Huizenga, Bill [R-MI-4] (R-MI), 2025-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-17] (R-TX), 2025-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kean, Thomas H. [R-NJ-7] (R-NJ), 2025-11-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Barr, Andy [R-KY-6] (R-KY), 2025-11-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2] (R-NJ), 2026-02-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Taylor, David J. [R-OH-2] (R-OH), 2026-03-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1] (D-HI), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Houlahan, Chrissy [D-PA-6] (D-PA), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-5] (D-NY), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cleaver, Emanuel [D-MO-5] (D-MO), 2026-05-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Williams, Nikema [D-GA-5] (D-GA), 2026-06-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Salazar, Maria Elvira [R-FL-27] (R-FL), 2026-07-09T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Enforce your right to pay cash: benefit, medium. If enacted, you could send a certified letter to a business that refuses your cash, and it would have 45 days to fix it before you could sue. If it does not fix it, you could sue and get your actual losses or $250 if your loss is smaller. Courts could fine up to $500 for a first offense and $1,500…
- Stores would take cash up to $500: benefit, medium. If enacted, stores that take in-person payments would have to accept cash for purchases up to $500 and could not charge cash customers more. They could refuse cash only if the register system fails or if they temporarily have no change. On-site machines that turn cash into a prepaid card would be a…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2048: Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act
- 119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 119-hr-4382: America’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Coins Act
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-1138 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1138)

## Related
- [119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1422)
- [119-hr-2048: Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2048)
- [119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-909)
- [119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1628)
- [119-hr-4382: America’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Coins Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4382)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1138 (as of 2026-09-21).