MashGet

People holding California state IOUs -- including taxpayers, vendors and local governments -- will soon have a tougher time redeeming them, as most major banks are standing firm on a vow not to cash the vouchers after today.

Many credit unions say they will continue to redeem the IOUs for customers. But without mainstream banks as an option, recipients of the IOUs who need cash immediately could be tempted to sell them at a discount to third-party speculators, including ones popping up on the Internet.