Retailers Accept Foreign Currency as Dollar Withers

Sharon McLoone
Washington Post
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Some small retailers that include transatlantic tourists and other jet-setters among customers are accepting euros as the dollar's value dwindles worldwide.

Washington Post Staff Writer Alejandro Lazo reports today that a small falafel shop in D.C.'s Adams Morgan district has joined the trend.

Scott and Arianne Bennett, who own a Mediterranean sandwich shop, "are joining a number of businesses in tourist-heavy areas that have begun accepting the euro and other foreign currencies," he reports.

The store hasn't made any significant practical changes to accommodate the currency.

"Conversion sheets are kept near the store's cash register for employees manning the counter. Dollar prices on the menu are converted at the register, and change is returned in dollars. The couple's local Bank of America branch accepts deposits of the foreign currency at no additional charge," according to the story.

The trend is catching on. In tourist-laden Dupont Circle, Claude Taylor, a 44-year-old photographer who owns a studio there, began accepting euros last week for prints of his travel photography.