Jessica Mathews / Public News Service / News@whmi.com


Michigan businesses are adjusting to life without new pennies after the federal government stopped producing the one-cent coin as a cost-saving move.
The change has been debated for years, and now retailers have to make decisions in real time.

There were only six months between the Department of Treasury’s announcement and the Mint’s production of its last penny in November of last year.

Andrew Beardslee is Vice President of Government Affairs for the Michigan Retailers Association. He says businesses aren’t opposed to the change – they just want clarity on how to move forward.

Beardslee said "The obvious thing to do would be what Canada did, which was to round to the nearest nickel. The problem for Michigan retailers is that there's not a lot of clarity from the federal government on whether that's acceptable."

The cost of manufacturing a single penny has more than doubled in the last decade, and there are roughly 114 billion pennies still in circulation.

The U-S Treasury later released guidance on how businesses can handle cash transactions, but it notes the recommendations are nonbinding. That’s raised concerns about whether retailers could still face legal risks.

Beardslee believes the guidance released so far has only increased uncertainty. He said "Record-keeping is going to be really key, to make sure that you've got a good sense of how your business handled it in this sort of messy interim time. But communication is key, and I think that the more communication we have from the federal government about what this process ought to look like, the better."

Beardslee added retailers are also watching for conflicts with state and local rules, including requirements affecting SNAP purchases and cash transactions. He said his group supports federal legislation, known as the Common Cents Act, to set uniform rules nationwide.

This story is a collaboration between Michigan Independent and Michigan News Connection.