Banks and Retailers Face Challenges as Pennies Become Scarce

The wind-down of the penny is reportedly causing problems for banks and retailers.

While they don’t want the penny to stay around, they are seeking solutions to issues like supplying the coins to those who need them and making exact change in retail transactions, ABC News reported Thursday (Oct. 30).

President Donald Trump said on May 9 that the U.S. would stop minting new pennies because of the cost. The U.S. Mint’s cost to make a penny in 2024 was 3.7 cents, and putting a stop to penny production will save the Mint $56 billion, according to the report.

The Treasury Department placed its last order for the metal disks that are turned into pennies in May, the last pennies were minted in June and the final pennies were distributed by August, the report said.

As pennies become harder to find, banks are having trouble providing them to customers who cash checks and those who need them in their businesses, according to the report.

For retailers, the shortage of pennies has created a legal risk, the report said. Some states have laws that require retailers to offer the same price, whether customers are paying by cash or debit or credit card, which means that it’s illegal to round up prices for cash customers.

One retailer told ABC News that to avoid lawsuits, it has been rounding down prices, and that this strategy has cost it millions of dollars.

There is a bill in Congress, the Common Cents Act, that would require cash transactions to be rounded up or down to the nearest nickel, per the report.

According to an April 30 press release announcing the bill, the Common Cents Act has bipartisan backing, as the bill was introduced in the House and the Senate by members of both parties.

It was reported in May that Americans throw away as much as $68 million in coins each year, leaving them in airport security checkpoints or using them in art projects. Another $14 billion in coins is sitting in people’s change jars.

PYMNTS reported on May 31 that the demise of the penny will not only save taxpayers millions but also streamline cash handling for businesses.