The current economy is leaving many consumers nationwide feeling squeezed financially—and the national penny shortage is putting extra strain on some customers and retailers.
 
Quite simply, there is a penny mess, and retailers are unsure what the best process is for rounding transactions to the nearest nickel. Traditionally, rounding to the nearest five cents means that the process is equitable and neither the customer nor retailer has an advantage… but consumers are less positive that is the case.
 
One in four consumers (25%) said that the retailer benefits when transactions are rounded either up or down to the nearest five-cent increment, according to a national consumer survey conducted for NACS from January 30-February 6 by opinion research firm Bold Decision.
 
At present, there is no national standard when it comes to rounding, and without a dedicated effort to explain how rounding works, many customers express concern that they’ll be shortchanged—literally. By a more than 2:1 margin, consumers think that rounding up or down to the nearest nickel would benefit the store more than the customers. Those who say their finances have gotten worse over the last year are most likely to be distrustful of rounding and they are much more likely to perceive rounding as benefiting the store.
 
“It’s clear that even after we get clear and expedited guidelines and a national law that allows businesses to round transactions to the nearest nickel, it will also be essential that there is a proactive, national campaign to communicate the policy so customers fully understand the dynamics of rounding,” said Jeff Lenard, NACS vice president of media and strategic communications.
 
While the federal government has stopped manufacturing new pennies, the Federal Reserve will continue to recirculate the roughly 114 billion pennies currently in existence for as long as possible. The Treasury has said that “how long existing pennies remain in circulation depends largely on consumer behavior.”
 
NACS has been strongly advocating for federal legislation that would allow retailers to round up or down to the nearest nickel and provide a safe harbor for retailers who round. NACS previously met with Treasury officials and sent a letter to the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees urging them to pass federal legislation to allow businesses to continue carrying out cash transactions as issues arise.