It’s a story making headlines in 2025. After more than 230 years, the U.S. Treasury is ending the production of new pennies, due to the high cost and declining usage. As a result, many Southern New Englanders are still trying to make sense of it all.
That’s especially true for local businesses, now left to figure out how to handle the ensuing penny problem. After all, how do you make exact change with a lack of pennies for cash transactions?
Here’s a look at a few questions you may have regarding penny circulation and retail transactions, with information that may help you going forward:
- Question: Are pennies still considered legal tender?
- Yes, pennies continue to be in circulation and still have value as legal tender, but with a lack of new production, and reported incidents of hoarding, there may be fewer available.
- You can still use pennies for cash purchases and bank deposits.
- Question: How will this change, impact bank transactions?
- At BayCoast Bank, we will continue to distribute pennies for banking transactions as long as they are available. Please note that supplies may vary by branch location and may be limited.
- Keep in mind, we can no longer order new pennies from the Federal Reserve.
- This means that over time, penny supplies may become limited.
- Question: How will the lack of new penny production impact cash purchases?
- For cash transactions, local retailers may start rounding to the nearest nickel in order to make exact change.
- Local businesses may also encourage the use of debit, credit card, and digital payments, as those transactions will still process at the exact amount.
BayCoast’s Cashless Solutions for Businesses.
With the penny being phased out, BayCoast Bank’s Merchant Services may be the perfect solution for area businesses, by offering cashless transactions.
If you’re a business owner, ask us about adding card terminals, virtual terminals, and mobile payment options, so your customers can benefit from fast, convenient, and secure transactions, without using cash.
The best part? We can customize our Merchant Services offerings to fit your business needs. That means you can worry less about pennies and focus more on growing your bottom line!
Contact Us
If you have questions about BayCoast Bank’s Merchant Services, or any other banking matters, please do not hesitate to contact us at 508-678-7641. Our team will be happy to assist you!
