Rouses Markets to round up cash as US phases out the penny

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Rouses Markets announced Thursday a new change for shoppers paying with cash as the United States begins to phase out the penny.

The grocery chain said it would start rounding up cash transactions once each store runs out of pennies. The new policy is expected to roll out gradually across Rouses locations in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

The U.S. Treasury Department says the Mint has made its last order of penny blanks. It will stop making pennies when supplies run out.

Rouses said it will still accept pennies as payment, but once a store’s supply is gone, all cash totals will be rounded up to the nearest nickel — always in the customer’s favor.

Examples:

• If a customer is owed $0.91, they’ll get $0.95 back.
• If they’re owed $0.47, they’ll receive $0.50.

“Our customers are always our top priority,” said Donny Rouse, third-generation CEO of Rouses Markets. “Rounding up is the simplest, fairest way to handle this change so customers never come up short.”

The change will not affect credit, debit, EBT, or mobile payments, Rouses says, only cash transactions involving coin change.

Latest News