It’s been a little less than five months since the U.S. Treasury Department announced it would stop producing pennies, leaving retailers to figure out for themselves how to handle cash transactions once the supply of one-cent coins started running short.
It appears that time has come sooner than many expected.
National retailers like Walmart, Target, Kroger and Dollar General offered no information about their contingency plans when asked five months ago, and all have declined to offer any updates when asked five months later.
But some retailers are already implementing plans to round off prices – in their customers’ favor. And if their method becomes the standard, then those who pay in cash could come out ahead.
ALDI is among the national retailers who have not responded to requests for comment about how it’s handling the situation. But ALDI shoppers have been posting pictures online of signs taped to the front doors of various store locations. “Notice: Due to the U.S. Mint discontinuing penny production, we may be unable to provide pennies as change,” the signs read. “When pennies aren’t available, change due and refund totals will be rounded up to the nearest five cents. All other payment methods will be processed as usual.”
ALDI has not confirmed whether this is a chainwide policy, or if it’s up to individual stores to figure it out. But the decision to round up change, and round down prices for those paying cash, echoes that of a regional convenience store chain, which has become one of the first retailers to publicly announce its penny policy.
“As stores run out of pennies by location,” the Midwestern retailer Kwik Trip explained, “and since the Government has not provided guidance on how to proceed, all cash purchases at Kwik Trip and Kwik Star locations will be rounded down to the nearest five cents, ensuring a guest-friendly approach. Kwik Trip will continue this approach until a permanent legislative solution has been enacted.”
When the decision was made back in May to discontinue minting pennies, it was assumed that retailers would decide for themselves how to proceed, with the general consensus being that they would likely round prices up or down to the nearest nickel. But the fact that at least two retail chains are now rounding down prices, and increasing the amount of change given, is a welcome development for shoppers paying with cash, who may have worried they’d end up paying more at the register.
And yet, retailers would still prefer that the government come up with a more consistent approach. The National Association of Convenience Stores, an industry trade group, is urging Congress to create a national law enabling businesses to round transactions to the nearest nickel – because, they fear, state and local laws may prevent many retailers from being able to do so.
“There are some states and localities with cash laws that would prohibit this type of rounding,” the NACS explained. “There are also pricing laws in various states. This is why federal legislation is needed to preempt these issues.”
The group has sent a letter to the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees, urging them to act. “Businesses are desperate for Congress to address this issue,” Anna Ready Blom, strategic advisor of the government relations team at NACS, said in a statement. “Without federal legislation, businesses are left in the impossible position of trying to figure out what to do and at risk of being out of compliance with other laws.”
Until then, shoppers at Kwik Trip and at least some ALDI stores will enjoy a bit of a discount when they pay in cash. No coupons required.
Image source: Acton Crawford on Unsplash
