Add McDonald’s to the businesses running short of pennies now that the coins are no longer being produced by the U.S. Mint.
Penny shortage across the US has retailers, banks struggling
Banks and businesses across the nation are struggling to find pennies since President Trump scrapped production earlier this year.
Straight Arrow News
The most recent business feeling the penny pinch? McDonald’s.
With the U.S. Mint having made its last pennies two months ago, some stores and retailers including Kroger, Home Depot and Kwik Shop have begun to run short of pennies. Now, the penny shortage has hit McDonald’s.
Some McDonald’s locations in certain parts of the U.S. have run short of pennies and have begun rounding cash transactions up or down to the nearest five cents when customers don’t have exact change, the company told USA Today.
“Following the discontinuation of pennies nationwide, some McDonald’s locations may not be able to provide exact change,” McDonald’s said in a statement. “We have a team actively working on long-term solutions to keep things simple and fair for customers. This is an issue affecting all retailers across the country, and we will continue to work with the federal government to obtain guidance on this matter going forward.”
McDonald’s is running short of pennies. So, how are cash payments being handled?
When a customer pays cash and doesn’t have exact change, the purchase total is rounded down by two cents or up by two cents. So, if your lunch meal cost $12.06, for example, and you didn’t have exact change and the restaurant didn’t have pennies, you’d be charged $12.05. If your meal was $9.39, the total would be round up to $9.40.
The rounding only affects cash payments – the majority of McDonald’s transactions in the U.S made by credit card or other cashless payments made in the McDonald’s app, for instance.
Restaurants may ask customers to use exact change or cashless payment options, the company said.
This rounding practice isn’t new and has been used in other countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand where low-denomination coins have been eliminated. Some have round up while others have round down, according to Money.com.
Why is there a shortage of pennies?
Technically, the U.S. is not short of pennies; about 250 billion pennies are in circulation. But there have been “localized supply issues,” according to the American Banking Association.
The end of the penny came after President Donald Trump told the Treasury Department in February to stop making the coins, which cost more than 3 cents to produce. (They cost 3.69 cents to make, according to the U.S. Mint.)
With the U.S. Mint having made its final pennies, some shortages are happening because roughly one-third of the about 165 Federal Reserve coin terminal facilities – where coins are distributed and deposited – have stopped penny transactions, the ABA said. The “supply issues” are likely in parts of the country where those terminals have stopped circulating pennies, the organization said.
Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com
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