Businesses will soon need to rethink how they price everyday goods as the U.S. Treasury begins phasing out the penny, ending over 230 years of use, The Wall Street Journal reports.
By early next year, the U.S. Mint will stop producing new one-cent coins, forcing retailers to round cash transactions to the nearest five cents. The change won’t impact digital payments, but it will require businesses to adjust point-of-sale systems, pricing strategies and potentially even tax collection methods.
The shift comes after years of bipartisan support to eliminate the coin, which costs nearly four times its face value to produce. The Treasury expects to save $56 million annually by halting production, a number that could grow as some manufacturing facilities are shut down.
The Mint will stop making pennies after it runs out of the blank templates used to make them. The final order of blanks was placed this month, according to a statement.
The decision mirrors similar moves by Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which have already ditched their one-cent coins and adopted rounding practices.
With more than half of U.S. coins sitting idle in jars and drawers, businesses must now prepare to operate in a penny-free economy—balancing customer perception with new operational norms.
