Take a bill out of your pocket. If you live in Canada it says right on the note “Bank of Canada – This Note is Legal Tender”. By definition this means it can be used at its face value for all debts public and private. Oh but wait, now days we have counterfeiters of $100 notes so there is always the chance the bill could be bogus! For this reason many businesses have taken up the practice of not accepting $100 notes! Ok, let me get this right. You have a business in Canada. You obtain a business license that outlines what you can and cannot sell, how to conduct your business, hours you can operate, etc. Then you open your store in a local community and proceed to not accept the legal tender of the nation! What? That would be like me opening a dollar store and then only accepting dollar coins (loonies)! Well you know I don’t want to have to make change and stuff!
I understand the owners of these stores don’t want to risk accepting counterfeit notes, which is why they should invest in a machine that detects this sort of thing. Can’t afford to buy a machine? Well they sell lights that work just as well. Heck, can’t afford the light, buy the damn pen that you mark with to expose the fakes! Don’t want to spend a dime! Well then educate your employees with free online programs like this one CLICK.
I for one have decided to no longer spend my money at establishments that don’t accept all forms of Canadian currency. If I am forced to use their business I am going to only use Credit Cards because they loose up to 3% on every transaction. Sometimes a transaction fee on top too! That means I will be buying three separate admissions to the cinema that is the only place to see the newest kids film Hannah is dying to see! Yup, I’ll be the guy taking up the time in the line, sorry!
I really dislike seeing these signs and if you just go on supporting places that have adopted this practice, it’s only going to spread. Soon they won’t accept $50’s and $20’s … and if you don’t think that will happen … just wait and see!
So ends the rant …
“If you owe the bank a $100, that’s your problem. If you owe the bank $100 Million, that’s the banks problem.” J.Paul Getty
Shawn Farquhar's Blog 