House Passes Common Cents Act

On Monday, the House unanimously voted to pass the Common Cents Act, which would allow cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents. The bill comes after the U.S. mint officially stopped producing pennies last year and retailers began to experience shortages of the one-cent coin. 

The bill must now be passed in the Senate, which is expected to vote next week.

Without federal legislation, rounding transactions could put retailers out of compliance with certain laws and bring the threat of potential class action lawsuits. Some retailers have been rounding only in the customer’s favor, which can lead to unplanned costs to the business and violate laws. 

NACS worked with the House Financial Services Committee and Rep. Lisa McClain on the bill and advocated for the passage of the Common Cents Act. In July, NACS, along with 15 other associations representing Main Street businesses, sent a letter to Congress urging it to quickly pass the bipartisan legislation. NACS has been persistent in encouraging Congress to pass this legislation as it faced unexpected delays and hurdles late this summer.

“Businesses and their customers across the country deserve certainty and consistency in their everyday cash transactions and need this legislation to pass Congress as quickly as possible. As such, we urge you and your colleagues to vote yes on the Common Cents Act to ensure that we can continue to serve our customers without interruption,” NACS said.

Resolving this issue is a top priority for NACS, and we will continue to update our members as the situation evolves. 

Payment