Rouses Phasing Out Pennies and Rounding Change in Customers’ Favor
Rouses Markets says it will begin phasing out pennies once each store’s supply runs out, switching to a rounding policy that favors customers on cash change. The move follows federal signals that penny production is winding down and aims to keep checkout quick and fair for shoppers who still use cash.
How the rounding works
If your change is 91 cents, you will receive 95. If it is 47 cents, you will receive 50. Pennies will still be accepted as payment, but coin change from cash transactions will round up to the nearest nickel in the customer’s favor.
Credit, debit, EBT, and mobile payments are not affected.
Digital payments already dominate
Rouses notes that across its locations, digital payments far outweigh cash. Most customers tap, swipe, or insert a card or phone, which means the new policy will touch a smaller share of purchases than many assume.
For those who do use cash, the rounding ensures they never come up short.
Why pennies run out at registers
In practice, customers are much more likely to receive pennies as change than to pay with pennies. Most people hand over bills rather than count out exact coins, especially loose change.
Even with Rouses recycling coins from registers, stores have routinely had to buy additional pennies to make exact change. The rounding policy reduces that strain while giving cash customers a slight boost.
Clearing up the confusion
Some online reactions worried that “rounding up” meant paying more at the register. That is not the case here. Totals do not change.
Only the change back on cash transactions is rounded, and always in the customer’s favor. Shoppers will come out ahead by one to four cents when pennies would otherwise be needed.
Bottom line for shoppers
- Pennies are still accepted.
- Cash change rounds up to the nearest nickel in your favor.
- Card and mobile payments are unchanged.
- Most shoppers pay digitally, so the impact is limited but positive for cash users.
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Gallery Credit: Madison Troyer
