[Penny Shortage Means You Can't Get Correct Change | Banking Advice | U.S. News]
Citing high costs (about 3.7 cents per penny) and declining usefulness; existing pennies remain legal tender, but shortages are spreading as the Federal Reserve stops distributing them at many coin terminals.
After reviewing the implications, Cash Management recommends that each department consider the best approach for your operations.
Some suggested options include:
• Adjusting pricing to eliminate the need for pennies.
• Rounding transactions when necessary. This has led to rounding practices for cash transactions. Most proposals and retailer policies use “symmetric rounding”:
- Totals ending in 1¢ or 2¢ → round down to 0¢
- 3¢ or 4¢ → round up to 5¢
- 6¢ or 7¢ → round down to 5¢
- 8¢ or 9¢ → round up to 10¢. [utefrc.org]
Please review your processes and determine what works best for your area. If you have any questions, contact Cash Management.
