Since the U.S. Mint discontinued the penny in November, the federal government has yet to advise businesses on how to make change.
Some local stores, like Walmart and Joe Sippers Cafe, have stopped using the penny when giving change. Others have yet to be affected by the discontinuation, such as Silk Purse Thrift Store.
Over the past few months, Joe Sippers Cafe has quit using pennies since its local bank does not issue them and no longer accepts the coin, says Cafe Manager Erich Metzelaars.
“On cash transactions, we’ll just round to the nearest nickel, up or down,” said Metzelaars. “Sometimes the customer wins. Sometimes we win, I guess.”
The cafe is awaiting a response from their point-of-sale vendor, Square, in regards to rounding any card transactions and possibly automatically rounding customers’ change.
“They’re kind of aware that there’s something happening, and they seem to – people around here anyway – seem to appreciate that they don’t have to deal with pennies anymore,” said Metzelaars.
At Silk Purse, Store Manager Shari Goldstein explained how the thrift store is still able to get pennies from their local bank, Crossroads. So employees are able to make change like normal. If the discontinuation of the penny does affect Silk Purse, Goldstein says Silk Purse will follow Crossroads’ instructions.
Goldstein believes the discontinuation of the penny will negatively impact the economy because it will be confusing since there are no guidelines or rules put in place.
“It’s gonna be hard. That’s what my husband and I believe, and we tell our kids: ‘Quit using your credit cards. You gotta use that money. You gotta use that cash once and a while,’” said Goldstein. “Otherwise, everything’s gonna go to credit, and the government’s gonna have more control. That’s how I feel.”