BUSINESSES ADJUST TO PENNY"S DEMISE

Earlier this year, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it was winding down the production of the penny, which long ago began costing more to make than it"s worth. Several Federal Reserve Bank sites around the country, which distribute the coins to banks and credit unions, have already stopped fulfilling orders for pennies.

This is putting some retailers in a bind, especially when customers don"t have exact change for transactions that are not rounded to the nearest nickel.

This month, a consortium of retail groups, including the National Association of Convenience Stores and the National Grocers Association, wrote to members of Congress urging clear guidelines on how to proceed. The groups called for legislation to round transactions to make it easier to give exact change, and to facilitate check cashing at stores.

"Unless these services are covered by legislation," the letter reads, "many low-income customers may lose access to the services they need and have come to expect."

While the government has not offered guidance for what stores should do if they run out of pennies, some retailers appear to be taking it upon themselves to adapt. Earlier this month, Kwik Trip, the convenience store chain based in La Crosse, Wis., announced that its 850 stores across the Midwest would round cash transactions down to the nearest nickel, though the price of cashless transactions would remain the same.

There are signs that the shortage is beginning to affect other American businesses, such as Sheetz, the convenience store chain based in Altoona, Pa. WGAL-TV spotted a sign in one store in south-central Pennsylvania that said, "Attention Customers: The U.S. Mint will no longer produce pennies, so we are short on change!"

Instead, the store encouraged customers to use credit or debit cards, or a phone payment app. Additionally, the store encouraged customers to "round up" their cash purchases to support charity, or to "cash in one dollar"s worth of spare pennies to receive a self-serve drink."

To read the complete articles, see:
The Penny"s Demise Is Leaving Some Businesses Shortchanged (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/business/penny-circulation-retailers-change.html)
Sheetz asking customers to use cashless payments or round up due to penny shortage (https://www.wgal.com/article/pennsylvania-sheetz-penny-change-shortage/68987511)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
COMPANY ADOPTS NEW ‘CASH ROUNDING' POLICY (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n40a23.html)

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