The popular grocery store chain Kroger has announced a new change on its payment policy which could make paying a bit more difficult. From all the changes they could have made, they decide to change the payment policies, isn’t it weird? Well, this is happening because of a future lack of pennies in the entire U.S.
The U.S. government has decided it will stop minting these coins and this will affect stores like Kroger, where many people still pay in cash. So, let’s find out more about this change.
Kroger is changing its policy
In several Kroger stores you can already see some signs on the self-checkout stations, where clients can have information about the U.S. Treasury ending penny production. The sign says:
“The U.S. Treasury has stopped production of pennies, which is now impacting supply. If using cash for payment, please consider providing exact change.”
This means if you pay in cash, it will be better to have the exact amount to avoid issues with the change.
The end of pennies in the U.S.
The U.S. government announced that in 2026 it will stop producing pennies forever. This decision was made because producing coins is more expensive than what they are worth. Producing a penny costs almost 4 cents, so the country loses money with every coin.
Only in 2024, The Treasury spent $85,3 million in producing more than 3 new billion pennies. This is why stopping the penny production will save about $56 million per year! When this happens, nickel (5 cents) will be the smallest coin in the country. However, it’s also the most expensive to produce since every nickel costs $13.8 cents.
Other countries like Canada, Australia, and NewZealand have already removed their 1 cent coins a long time ago, and the U.S. will follow their example.
Other stores
Kroger is not the only store that will be affected by this change, others like Kwik Trip, Sheetz, and Love’s Travel Stops are also preparing for the lack of pennies. For example, Sheetz put some signs at their stores warning clients they don’t have enough change. So, they are asking people to use credit or debit cards, or paying through the mobile app.
What’s more, Sheetz offers clients the option to round up their total to support charity programs. Even in one of their stores, they offered a free drink to those who gave them $1 in pennies.
Then, Kwik Trip, which has more than 900 stores, announced that all the purchases paid in cash will be rounded down to the nearest 5 cents. Basically, if your purchase costs $10.98, you will pay $10.95. The company said it’s doing this because the government hasn’t given clear guidance yet about how to manage payments without pennies. Don’t worry if you pay at a register because they are set up to automatically apply this rounding rule.
Another chain, Love’s Travel Stops, is following a similar path. In locations that run out of pennies, the company will round change in favor of the customer, meaning you could end up paying slightly less than the total. As of now, about 50 of Love’s 660 stores across 42 states are affected by the penny shortage.
Prices
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (FRBR) explained that some stores could use a system called ‘’rounding tax’’. This means that, if prices are frequently rounded up, customers could lose about $6 million per year. This is why it will be so important that customers pay attention to know whether stores like Kroger or Kwik Trip round up or down. Nobody wants to lose such big amount of money when buying at Kroger, right?