Add McDonald’s to the list of companies running out of pennies now that the U.S. Mint is no longer producing coins.
Penny shortages are hurting retailers and banks across the U.S.
Banks and businesses across the country have struggled to find pennies since President Trump halted production earlier this year.
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Are you feeling like you’re running out of business these days? McDonald’s.
Some stores and retailers, including Kroger, Home Depot and Kwik Shop, are starting to run out of pennies since the U.S. Mint paid out the last penny two months ago. Now, a penny shortage is hitting McDonald’s.
The company told USA Today that some McDonald’s locations in certain areas of the United States are experiencing a shortage of change and have begun rounding cash transactions up or down to the nearest nickel if a customer does not have change.
McDonald’s said in a statement: “Following the nationwide discontinuation of the penny, some McDonald’s locations may not be able to provide accurate change.” “We have a team actively working on long-term solutions to keep things simple and fair for our customers. This is an issue that affects every retailer across the country, and we will continue to work with the federal government for guidance on this issue.”
McDonald’s is short of pennies. So how are cash payments processed?
If a customer pays cash and has no change, the total purchase amount will be rounded up to 2 cents or rounded up to 2 cents. For example, if your lunch cost $12.06 and you didn’t have change and the restaurant didn’t have a penny, you’d be charged $12.05. If the meal was $9.39, the total would be rounded up to $9.40.
This rounding only affects cash payments. For example, the majority of McDonald’s transactions in the United States are made by credit card or other cashless payments made through the McDonald’s app.
Restaurants may require customers to use change or cashless payment options, the company said.
This rounding technique is not new and is also used in other countries where low denomination coins have been phased out, such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand. According to Money.com, some are rounded up and some are rounded down.
Why is there a penny shortage?
Strictly speaking, the United States is not short on pennies. Approximately 250 billion pennies are in circulation. But the American Bankers Association says there are “localized supply issues.”
The end of the penny comes after President Donald Trump told the Treasury Department in February to stop producing coins that cost more than 3 cents to produce. (According to the U.S. Mint, it costs 3.69 cents to manufacture.)
Now that the U.S. Mint has produced its last penny, about one-third of the Federal Reserve’s roughly 165 coin terminal facilities (where coins are distributed and deposited) are no longer trading in pennies, leading to some coin shortages, according to the ABA. The group said “supply issues” are likely occurring in some areas of the country where these terminals have taken pennies out of circulation.
This story has been updated with new information.
Mike Snyder is a national trends news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, and X, and email him at: mike snyder & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com
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