--- title: Penny Shortages Are Hitting Stores Across the Country description: As the government winds down penny production, retailers and customers are already reporting shortages and confusion at the register. authors: - name: Liliana Hall role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/ bio: Liliana Hall joined Money in 2025. She is an Austin-based reporter for Money, where she covers a range of topics, including financial news, policy, banking, investing, passive income, financial planning and student loan debt. education: University of Texas at Austin at_money_since: 2025 articles: 132 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Pets - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://x.com/lilihallllllll - https://www.linkedin.com/in/liliana-hall/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2025-10-31T19:05:46.000Z' modified: '2025-10-31T19:05:46.000Z' section: Personal Finance tags: - News word_count: 676 canonical: https://money.com/penny-shortages-impact/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo-illustration of pennies with one fading away](https://img.money.com/2025/10/News-Penny-Shortage.jpg) Somewhere between your couch cushions and your car’s cupholder likely lives a small fortune of lost pennies. Those little coppery coins (which are actually mostly made of zinc) have always had a way of disappearing. But after a little more than [two centuries](https://www.usmint.gov/learn/coins-and-medals/circulating-coins/penny?srsltid=AfmBOorPS37eYCik1ZPisjtyY0ggAo0Y5_vMyR8WXW8MUujW0Zyd2oKH) in circulation, the U.S. Mint plans to retire the penny — and retailers are finding out just how much those cents add up. Businesses across the country are already reporting penny shortages that change the way cash is handled at the register. At a [Sheetz convenience store](https://www.wgal.com/article/pennsylvania-sheetz-penny-change-shortage/68987511) in south-central Pennsylvania, signs inform customers that pennies are in short supply and encourage alternative payment methods. Shoppers are asked to use cashless payment options, round up their total for charity or even trade in $1 worth of pennies in exchange for a free drink. Meanwhile, Kwik Trip, a popular Midwest convenience store chain, [announced](https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/kwik-trip-adopts-penny-free-policy-rounding-down-to-the-nearest-5-cents) that all cash purchases at its locations will be automatically rounded down to the nearest five cents until a permanent legislative solution is enacted. But the bigger challenge is the lack of guidance on what retailers are allowed — or expected — to do. ## Regain financial stability with the help of Freedom Debt Relief ### Freedom can start you on the path to resolve your debt, especially if you owe over $20,000. Why wait? Select your state to get started today! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/l67257dab4e3?ap_referrer=%2Fpenny-shortages-impact%2F) "The thing that convenience stores most want is clarity from a federal level on how to address this, because right now there is not sufficient clarity," Jeff Lenard, vice president of media and strategic communications at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), tells Money. "And because of that, retailers are faced with one of three bad decisions." Basically, he says, they can round down, round up or go cashless. Rounding down could cost the industry millions each day. The NACS [estimates](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KDxaTJwIzre4eE5FhCP896SM7dbJby7l/edit) that if every convenience store were to do this, the industry would lose about $1.2 million a day. On the other hand, rounding *up* could create legal or regulatory risks, including complications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) customers, minimum pricing on products like tobacco or milk, state fuel signage regulations or check-cashing accuracy. The third option — encouraging customers to switch to plastic — is also problematic because [swipe fees](https://nrf.com/advocacy/policy-issues/swipe-fees) can outweigh both losses from rounding, making convenience stores lose part of what makes them convenient. ## Why everyone's confused about pennies To be clear, pennies are still in production for now. This is only the beginning of what will be a massive shift. The U.S. Department of the Treasury placed its final order in May for the blank metal discs used to mint the one-cent coin. Once those blanks are exhausted — expected to occur in early 2026 — new pennies will no longer be made. Officials estimate that ending penny production could save the federal government about $56 million each year. And there's precedent: Other countries have already ditched their one-cent coins, citing similar cost and efficiency concerns. But in the U.S., shortages weren't expected for another couple of months, so many merchants have been caught off-guard. Questions remain about how cash transactions will be handled without pennies in circulation — and how consumers will adjust. Complicating matters further, certain American cities and states actually require that retailers have cash and provide proper change. Areas such as Berkeley and San Francisco in [California](https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-08-22/l-a-might-ban-cashless-businesses-heres-whats-at-stake#:~:text=In%20California%2C%20San%20Francisco%20and,requiring%20that%20retailers%20accept%20cash); [Washington, D.C](https://www.mddccua.org/2023/10/dc-law-bans-businesses-from-cash-free-policies/).; [Miami](https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2022/05/17/miami-dade-requires-retailers-to-accept-cash-payments/); [New York City](https://www.hunton.com/hunton-retail-law-resource/cash-or-credit-state-and-city-bans-on-cashless-retailers-are-on-the-rise), [Philadelphia](https://www.ctpublic.org/2020-02-06/some-businesses-are-going-cashless-but-cities-are-pushing-back); and [King](https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/council/governance-leadership/county-council/newsroom/2023/6-27-kohl-welles-cashless-business-legislation-release) and [Snohomish County](https://www.kuow.org/stories/snohomish-county-businesses-can-t-totally-nix-cash-under-new-law) in Washington all have exact-change rules. Likewise, the states of [Delaware](https://townsquaredelaware.com/delaware-retailers-must-accept-cash-under-new-law/#:~:text=Under%20the%20law%2C%20retailers%20may,charge%20less%20for%20cash%20sales), [Connecticut](https://portal.ct.gov/dcp/knowledge-base/articles/cash-payments?language=en_US) and Oregon require retailers to provide exact change. In these locations, rounding isn't legally an option, leaving retailers to figure out other ways to adapt. Lenard says that several bills in Congress aim to address the penny's retirement. For example, the [Common Cents Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3074/text) would formally end penny production and allow cash transactions to be rounded up *or* down to the nearest nickel. But with legislative progress stalled due to the ongoing [government shutdown](https://money.com/shutdown-services-continue/), retailers are left navigating the shortage without official guidance. ## Reduce payments and make debt manageable with a Debt Relief program ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/22c9e7e952cf?bidid=4030247745&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=662376362&ptoken=91fd087df7150674a5aca35e12278b08) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/23879/medium_3847e650-29eb-411b-9b8c-05deb0d02cbc.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/d5055bcea2f7?bidid=4030247746&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=662376362&ptoken=09778e612932a7bd7feeea32975f5a6f) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/15565/medium_832cc4b7-74f8-4735-8fe1-6917816cbe8d.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/c13ad59e7903?bidid=4030247744&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=662376362&ptoken=ed5e236d549c17298781e49acd94257c) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/22445/medium_ba73f26a-1e1e-4e49-9739-df1298783de6.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/2abf6be9c2ef?bidid=4030247749&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=662376362&ptoken=88943262156a165f5104fd7591ca7d81) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/9246/medium_94931930-28cf-46b5-b09d-683979caec81.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/ce0d979ab146?bidid=4030247747&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=662376362&ptoken=fe1209450569bfe3057721dde8cef7dd) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) If you owe over $20,000 or more, Freedom Debt Relief can help you get back on your feet! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/u5c2defb44d4?ap_referrer=%2Fpenny-shortages-impact%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/penny-shortages-impact/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Personal Finance", "item": "https://money.com/personal-finance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Penny Shortages Are Hitting Stores Across the Country" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/penny-shortages-impact/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/penny-shortages-impact/", "name": "Penny Shortages Are Hitting Stores Across the Country", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-10-31T19:05:46.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/penny-shortages-impact/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/penny-shortages-impact/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-10-31T19:05:46.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Penny Shortages Are Hitting Stores Across the Country", "articleSection": "Personal Finance", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/10/News-Penny-Shortage.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Penny-Shortage" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Liliana Hall", "url": "https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/#author", "description": "Liliana Hall joined Money in 2025. 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