This bill, titled the Payment Choice Act of 2025, aims to ensure that United States currency is treated as legal tender, reflecting a sense of Congress that consumers should have the right to use cash for payments at retail businesses throughout the nation.

The core provision mandates that any person selling goods or services at retail, who accepts in-person payments at a physical location, must accept cash for sales up to $500 per transaction. Furthermore, these businesses are prohibited from charging cash-paying customers a higher price than those paying with other methods.

Exceptions to this mandate include temporary situations like a sales system failure or insufficient change. Businesses can also be exempt if they provide customers with a no-fee device that converts cash into prepaid cards on the premises, provided the card funds do not expire, no personal identifying information is collected, and there are no fees to use the card.

For a five-year period, businesses are not required to accept $50 bills or larger denominations, with the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a rule thereafter regarding acceptable bill sizes, always requiring $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills. The bill outlines an enforcement mechanism where aggrieved customers can notify a retailer of a violation and, if not resolved, pursue a civil action for preventative relief, actual damages (or $250 liquidated damages), and civil penalties up to $1,500 for repeat offenses.

The Attorney General may intervene in such actions, and courts can appoint attorneys for individuals. State or local laws offering greater consumer protections are not preempted by this Act. Additionally, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration will be required to submit annual reports on the geographic distribution and location of automated teller machines.