What Consumers Can Expect in a Post-Penny World
You might have heard that the Treasury is stopping production of the penny, but what does that even entail? Don’t worry—here’s what you need to know about the penny’s discontinuation and how it will affect you.
Why is the penny being discontinued?
The penny might be our one-cent coin, but it actually costs quite a bit more to produce a single penny. In fact, over the last 10 years the production cost has risen from 1.3 cents to 3.69 cents each. It just isn’t economical to keep making them.
This isn’t the first time the U.S. Mint has discontinued a coin. Half-cent coins used to be part of regular coin production for general circulation, but were phased out in 1857 for the same reason.
What’s going to change?
You might have already seen some of these changes in stores. Some retailers have started displaying signage explaining how their cash transactions are going to be rounded to eliminate the issue of making exact change. Card and digital payments will likely remain un-rounded, but that will vary from business to business. Pennies are still legal tender and can be used in transactions for the foreseeable future.
One thing that’s still to be decided is how states, including Massachusetts, will change sale tax laws. Currently, most states require that sales tax be rounded to the nearest whole cent, which will have to be amended now that the penny is out of the picture. The state government should provide guidance in the months to come.
How does that affect me?
Business owners have already been dealing with this since the discontinuation was announced back in February 2025. They will have to continue navigating the previously mentioned price adjustments and state sales tax changes as they evolve.
The Jeanne D’Arc team started making plans to accommodate the end of the penny in the fall, after our cash courier notified us that we could no longer receive pennies from the Federal Reserve Bank. “We decided to limit the number of pennies our members could request to five dollars per day. While we do not currently face a shortage, we have heard from financial institutions on the west coast that they have run out,” explained Kate Dame, VP – Branch Administration. “We hope that by implementing these restrictions, we can avoid a similar situation and accommodate our members’ needs for as long as possible.”
Other than seeing fewer of the coins in circulation, very little will change for most Jeanne D’Arc members. Sorry coin collectors, we aren’t able to provide bags of pennies anymore. You can, however, still put as many pennies as you’d like at our coin counting machines to deposit them to your account for no fee. Still have more questions? Chat with our friendly and knowledgeable staff while you’re at the branch for the coin machine – they’d love to get to know you better!
