Associations representing the convenience-store and fuel industries are pushing Congress to pass the Common Cents Act (H.R. 3074).
On Tuesday afternoon, the House passed the bill by voice vote, Bloomberg reported. The bill would allow retailers to round cash transactions to the nearest nickel.
The U.S. Mint produced its last pennies more than a year ago. Immediately following this, many c-store chains like Kwik Trip, Love’s Travel Stops and Stewart’s Shops said they would round in favor of the customer once their pennies ran out.
Since then, more than 15 states have enacted laws governing cash rounding. But this is confusing to businesses and their customers, associations including the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS); NATSO, representing truck stops, travel centers and off-highway fuel retailers; SIGMA: America’s leading Fuel Marketers; and others said in a Monday letter addressed to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
“Since the U.S. Mint produced its last pennies over a year ago, businesses across the country have faced cascading impacts from the lack of pennies in circulation, operating under constant uncertainty about how [to] handle cash transactions when exact change is unavailable,” the letter said. “All the potential options today create the risk of potential legal challenges and significant financial losses.”
The groups are asking for a clear standard from Congress allowing businesses to round cash transaction amounts and a safe harbor from liability in doing so fairly, the letter said, adding that the Common Cents Act provides this solution.
The Common Cents Act was introduced by Reps. Lisa McClain (R-Michigan) and Robert Garcia (D-California) on April 29.
The Monday news release from NATSO and SIGMA listed other unanticipated “penny problems.”
As pennies disappear from circulation, retailers must round cash transactions to the nearest 5 cents when exact change is unavailable, NATSO and SIGMA said. But states and local jurisdictions have complex or conflicting rounding rules, they said.
Rounding the price of food purchased under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a violation of SNAP regulations, which prohibit treating SNAP customers more or less favorably than other customers, the associations said.
“Retailers that facilitate check cashing, including paychecks, also struggle to accommodate check cashing requests in [the] absence of exact cash amounts,” NATSO and SIGMA said. “Fuel retailers and marketers implore lawmakers to advance common-sense legislation that will end these existing operational challenges and allow them to legally and fairly serve their customers.”
After the House passed the bill Tuesday afternoon, the National Grocers Association applauded the move.
“Independent grocers serve millions of customers across the country every day, and the rapid disappearance of pennies created serious operational challenges and legal uncertainty for retailers of all sizes,” said Stephanie Johnson, NGA senior vice president and head of government affairs. “The Common Cents Act provides the clarity businesses need to continue conducting cash transactions fairly, consistently, and without disruption for consumers.”
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