AmiSight 6/5: The Penny’s Slow Fade: Why It’s Not Going Away Just Yet
- Ami Kassar
- 46 minutes ago
- 1 min read
Although the production of the penny will soon wind down and the one-cent coin will eventually be taken out of circulation, don’t expect it to disappear anytime soon.
With about 114 billion pennies in the United States, retailers and convenience stores will still use them until they finally disappear – which could be years, CNN reports. Jeff Lenard, spokesperson for the National Association of Convenience Stores, pointed to Canada which stopped making its one-cent coin in 2012, but still considers it legal tender.
Lenard said that eventually, stores won’t be able to get new rolls of pennies from their banks and will start rounding transactions up or down to the nearest nickel. Electronic transactions such as credit and debit card purchases, will continue to be down to the penny with only cash transactions being rounded.
