New Jersey coffee business fined $2,000 for not accepting Financial Daily coffee news from Roaster magazine

One of the two Latin phrases on the back of the Great American Seal is Nous Ordo Seclorum, which translates to “New Order of the Ages.”

New Jersey specialty coffee shop chain Hidden Grounds Coffee has agreed to pay a $2,000 fine following two state law violation notices for not accepting cash.

In an announcement yesterday, state Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin identified coffee businesses that require merchants to accept cash payments and disclose any, along with three New Jersey businesses that received notices of violations of the state’s Consumer Fraud Act (CFA). Credit card surcharges or fees before customers place an order.

While there is no federal law requiring cash acceptance, New Jersey is one of only three states to pass a consumer fraud law after 2020. Colorado passed a similar bill in 2021, and Massachusetts has required cash acceptance since 1978. Meanwhile, several US cities – San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia—have passed laws requiring cash to be accepted.

“New Jersey consumers deserve to know how much they’re paying when they go to the store, and how much they can pay,” New Jersey AG Platkin said of the alleged infringement notice. “Consumers from underrepresented communities may not have access to bank accounts or credit cards. Laws requiring businesses to accept cash protect consumers and ensure social equity in stores across the state.

High Grounds Coffee opened its first coffee shop in New Brunswick in 2013 and has since grown to six retail locations in the area, including stores in Hoboken and Jersey City.

According to the AG’s office, the business agreed to pay a $2,000 civil penalty to settle the alleged violations, also agree to accept cash, reduce damages to cash-paying customers and distribute a summary of the consent order to the chain’s retail managers.

The state also issued notices of violation to two other coffee businesses, Ronnie’s Hot Bagels in Hillsdale and Seymour’s Cafe in Clifton, accused of failing to disclose card surcharges before customers ordered. Those businesses were fined $500.

The operator of a Ferris wheel at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford has been fined $1,000 for customers who wanted to pay cash to buy gift cards that included a surcharge from another merchant.

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