Gas Station in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin Makes Major Change

With the production of the American penny being halted in early 2025, businesses small and large are forced to grapple with how to give change. Now, just a couple weeks from the end of the year, the penny shortage is being felt. If you've stopped at gas stations or even grocery stores, you might see signs explaining how businesses will alter their practice of giving change in lieu of having fewer pennies on hand.

Now, one of the biggest gas station chains in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin is offering clarity on how they will handle giving change, or, you could say, pinching pennies, now that the U.S. Treasury no longer mints the one-cent piece.

Casey's Has Made a Decision on How to Handle Cash Transactions:

Casey's General Stores, which is based in Ankeny, IA, has taken after their competitor Kwik Trip (aka "Kwik Star" in Iowa) in how they're dealing with the penny shortage. They will be rounding cash transactions down to the nearest nickel when cash-paying customers do not have exact change. Customers who pay with a debit or credit card will not be affected.

Casey's Spokesperson Katie Petru made the announcement earlier this month, per The Des Moines Register:

Due to the national penny shortage, Casey’s stores may be unable to provide exact change. We appreciate our guests’ understanding, and when necessary, cash transactions will be rounded down to the nearest five cents in favor of our guests - Casey's Spokesperson Katie Petru, per The Des Moines Register

Why the Penny is No Longer Being Minted:

In February 2025, President Donald Trump told the U.S. Treasury to cease minting pennies due to their cost-per-unit (over three cents/piece). The final pennies were produced at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia on November 12th, 2025. About 250 billion pennies remain in circulation, per The Des Moines Register, but "localized supply issues" have been popping up in pockets all around the country.

The production halt on pennies occurred despite the fact that, legally, it needs to be an act of Congress in order to be official. As of this writing, the federal government has not outlined any plan for pennies in circulation nor any formal guidance to retailers on rounding cash transactions. It's a free-for-all, subject to business discretion.

How Other Retailers are Handling Cash Transactions:

Other retailers have made decisions on how to handle cash transaction in lieu of the scarcity of pennies:

The Home Depot will round up or round down cash transactions to the nearest nickel.
Kroger will round up or round down cash transactions to the nearest nickel.
McDonald's will round up or round down cash transactions to the nearest nickel, depending on which would be closer to the order's total.

Read more about how Casey's is handling cash transactions with the halting of penny production in America on The Des Moines Register's website.