IBERIA PARISH — Back in November, the federal government stopped producing new pennies. While the coin is still accepted as legal tender, many stores are now rounding cash transactions up or down to the nearest nickel when giving change, meaning exact change is no longer guaranteed.
That shift has sparked confusion and frustration for some customers.
At a Tobacco Plus store, team lead Chaquila Carter says she regularly has to explain the change to shoppers, particularly older customers who expect every cent back.
Some customers, she said, will wait for pennies that simply aren’t available anymore.
“They’ll say they’re waiting for the three cents,” Carter explained. “And I have to tell them I don’t have pennies, so I have to give them 40 cents instead.”
Carter says those missing cents can feel like a big deal to people already trying to stretch their budgets.
“People are trying to penny pinch and get by as best they can right now,” she said.
Not everyone sees the change as a problem.
Customer Harry Pemberton said he believes the rounding will balance out over time.
“It’s the averages,” Pemberton said. “Sometimes it’s less, sometimes it’s more.”
But other shoppers disagree, saying even a few cents matter.
Customer Persayis Vecerra said he feels rounding shortchanges people who work hard for their money.
“I feel like it’s not fair,” Vecerra said. “We work hard for our money.”
Vecerra added that the impact could be greater for people living in poverty or experiencing homelessness, who often rely on exact change.
“They spend a little money that they do have, and they don’t get the exact amount of change back,” she said. “That’s not fair to them because they need every little bit of money.”
Experts say there are still billions of pennies in circulation, and the coin hasn’t been eliminated entirely. But as stores adjust their policies, the way Americans use and think about the penny appears to be changing.
