Dallas food chain to start accepting pesos

[Roon]

Starting Monday, patrons of the Dallas-based Pizza Patrón chain, which caters heavily to Latinos, will be able to purchase American pizzas with Mexican pesos.

Restaurant experts and economists said they knew of no other food chain with locations so far from the Mexican border offering such a service.

"We're trying to reach out to our core customer," Antonio Swad, president of Pizza Patrón Inc., said Friday.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/010607dnbuspesos.31047f5.html

[DRoseDARs]

1. Is that legal? No, seriously I'm asking. Was this common in Europe pre-Euro currency? n/t

[laundry_queen]

2. Some places used to take the Canadian dollar at par in the early 90's.

In towns along the border, to encourage tourism. I don't see how this is any different. I am guessing it's legal.

[ScreamingMeemie]

13. They still do that here in MI...on both borders and pretty far into

the state. :hi:

[Fierce]

15. MN too.

It's not always at par. Sometimes they'll take it at exchange.

[jwirr]

16. We often get Canadian money here in Minnesota but I think

that there is a lot of difference in the Canadian money and peso compared to the dollar. How many pesos do you need to buy a pizza?

[purduejake]

3. How do you tax that?

Or are there no sales taxes there?

At first I guessed it would be legal, but businesses are usually pretty regulated. It's not like bartering or garage sales - this business must possess operating licenses, etc.

[Little Wing]

6. Use the same rate

seems pretty simply to me

[eallen]

7. It's a free country. No law against it, that I know.

[karlrschneider]

9. Sure it's legal. You can accept any currency you want.

There are only a few places on the planet where people won't take U.S. Dollars...

[Pab Sungenis]

14. You can accept anything in payment you choose to, even barter.

You can take Canadollars, Pesos, Euros, wampum, whatever you want. The only thing that legal tender laws say is that you HAVE to take American Currency in payment if you take cash, and you cannot be compelled to take anything else if you choose not to.

The problem is the peso and the dollar are nowhere near par. XE.com says that today's rate has 11 pesos to the dollar. Do they float it? Or is it a fixed exchange rate? I'm curious.

[ddbaj]

4. Good.

Money is money, no need to deny people service because they have a different kind of currency.

[Rick Myers]

8. There needs to be a buffer distance at borders that accept other currency.

In Canada, near the border, most places accept American dollars, but pull out a Canadian $10 in the US and you'd look at you like your nuts.

If they can figures out the difference and the tax situation, I say let them take rubles and kroners....

[Little Wing]

5. They'd better get REALLY good fire insurance

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. I have no problems with this, but ...

I can see where there may be some potential issues with getting the correct exchange rate. Once they can work through that and get their staff properly trained, I say go for it.

[sandnsea]

11. We accepted Canadian in Montana

Probably most northern tier states are as familiar with Canadian money as US. This is absolutely NO big deal at all. I'd accept Canadian today and not think a thing of it, Mexican either. This is when the racism is so blatant that I don't understand how anybody can deny it.

[madrchsod]

12. the peso has doubled in the last year

the mexican government is offering long term bonds at higher interest than the us government`s .why not accept the peso seems they are going to be worth close to our currency in the future...

[RB TexLa]

17. There are quite a few places here that take Pesos

you charge the same sales tax rate, you just have to pay the city the sales tax in dollars. There is nothing illegal about it, a merchant my receive payment in any legal manner they choose. $50 worth of pesos, legal. $50 worth of crack cocaine, not legal.