Congress Wants Stores To Round Cash Purchases — Will You Pay More Without Pennies?
Your grocery bill hits $102.03, but the cashier's out of pennies. That's a problem Congress suddenly wants to solve — and not necessarily in your favor.
According to a press release from the office of Senator James Lankford, the Common Cents Act just passed both chambers, which would allow stores to round cash purchases to the nearest nickel. Sounds minor? Except when millions of transactions add up, those phantom pennies start looking less like spare change and more like a pattern.
Find Out: 3 Everyday Things Getting Quietly More Expensive Because of the Weaker Dollar
Read Next: 5 Low-Effort Ways To Make Passive Income (You Can Start This Week)
Here's what really matters: Will eliminating pennies actually cost you more? The answer's more nuanced than you'd think.
The Act That's Making Currency Change
In August 2026, the Senate passed the Common Cents Act, followed by the House on September 14, 2026, with H.R. 10167. The legislation would permanently end penny production for general circulation.
Meanwhile, the government has already stopped producing new circulating pennies, according to the U.S. Mint. Why? Each penny costs 3.69 cents to produce, making it one of the government's most expensive money-losing ventures.
The proposal would help merchants handle cash payments as pennies become scarce. Electronic payments would be exempt from rounding, so card transactions stay precise down to the penny.
How the Rounding Actually Works
Here's the simple version: According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, your total gets rounded to the nearest nickel after taxes and fees are calculated. Totals of $100.01 or $100.02 round down to $100.00. But $100.03 or $100.04 round up to $100.05.
The asymmetry matters. Researchers at the Richmond Fed found that rounding disproportionately favors merchants — meaning most totals trend upward, not downward.
The Real Cost (and It's Not Spare Change)
The Richmond Fed's analysis projected a net annual cost of roughly $6 million to American consumers if shopping patterns stay the same. That doesn't sound like much until you realize it's pure loss. The impact depends entirely on how often you actually pay in cash. If you're mostly swiping plastic, you dodge this entirely. If you're a cash purist, it's worth doing the math on your own spending.
What Happens to Your Jar of Pennies?
The good news is, according to the Mint, your pennies remain legal tender and still have value. You can deposit them at your local bank, although most institutions require them to be rolled or wrapped first. Contact your bank to confirm their policy before you show up with a 5-pound jar.
The Nickel Problem Coming Next
Here's where it gets interesting: Eliminating pennies could actually create demand for nickels, which the U.S. Mint reported cost a whopping 11.31 cents each to produce — nearly three times what a penny costs. If cash continues losing ground, you might see Congress eyeing the nickel next. And if that happens, you're looking at a much bigger rounding headache for what little cash remains in circulation.
The Bottom Line
The Common Cents Act solves a real problem — pennies are economically pointless — but the fix mainly benefits merchants. Cash payers will lose a few dollars annually, while the government saves on production costs. Card users? Completely unaffected.
As a consumer, if you still pay in cash, you're absorbing the rounding risk. So, you either switch to plastic when you can, or accept that your next $102.03 grocery bill just became $102.05.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
More From MoneyLion: