NEW YORK -- At the Greenwich Village restaurant Commerce, cash is off the menu.

In the latest encroachment of credit and debit cards onto the greenback's turf, the high-end New York City restaurant said goodbye to dollars and cents this week. The message to diners: Tip in cash if you wish, but otherwise, your money is no good here.

Americans these days are swiping their cards to pay for taxi rides, donate to Salvation Army kettles, even tithe in some churches. And at Commerce, more than 90% of customers had already made the switch to plastic.

"If you don't have a credit card, you can use a debit card," said the restaurant's co-owner, Tony Zazula. "If you don't have a debit card, you probably don't have a checking account. And if you don't have a checking account, you probably shouldn't be eating at Commerce to begin with."

In the world of online and catalog retailing, credit and debit cards have long been king. And in recent years, a handful of airlines have adopted "cashless cabins." While Commerce isn't necessarily breaking new ground, experts say only a smattering of brick-and-mortar retailers have embraced the card-only option. "We see it from time to time, but it's not for everyone," said Robert Hammer, chief executive of R.K. Hammer, a bank-card advisory firm.

Mr. Zazula, a veteran Manhattan restaurateur with an M.B.A. from Cornell University, decided the move was right for Commerce several months ago while on an American Airlines flight. "The flight attendants weren't accepting cash for any of the food," he recalls. "Suddenly, it struck me how unnecessary cash was."

Shortly after Mr. Zazula announced his plans, a mini-backlash started. New York magazine ridiculed the restaurant, saying it should rename itself "e-Commerce." A blog called "Eater" called the move total insanity, deeming it "bad news for mobsters, drug dealers and The Real Housewives of New Jersey."

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Mr. Zazula didn't back down. While other new and buzzworthy restaurants nationwide still buck the credit-card trend by refusing to accept anything other than cash -- bypassing the surcharges levied on every purchase -- he said the convenience and security afforded by going cashless are well worth the added cost. Gone is the age-old restaurateur's fear of getting robbed, either by outsiders or his own employees. "No more armored trucks," he says.

And going cashless allows restaurants to please the Internal Revenue Service, because cash-based transactions are easier to hide.

On Wednesday evening, several customers at Commerce, which offers $13 cocktails and $23 plates of spaghetti carbonara, seemed confused by the move. "It's strange," said Michael Chang, a New York University student. "Shouldn't they be catering to the customer? Why not let the customers choose how they want to pay?"

But many patrons seemed unfazed, even supportive. "I love the idea; it makes perfect sense," said artist Christine Sciulli, who said she typically pays with a debit or credit card, partly because of the rewards points she gets.

Credit-card industry experts say they expect more establishments like Commerce go cashless. "It's very plausible that at higher-end restaurants, we'll start to see more of this," Mr. Hammer said. But he said the move will be slow, and less-expensive eateries may not go there. "I just don't see it," he said. "Cash isn't a bad thing."