Congress moves to round all transactions to nearest 5-cent interval as Mint stops producing pennies

The House will vote on legislation Monday to establish a national cash-rounding standard to the nearest 5-cent interval, nearly a year after the United States stopped minting pennies.The bipartisan Common Cents Act would allow businesses to round the final total of a cash purchase up or down to the nearest nickel when exact change cannot be provided. Transactions ending in 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents could be rounded down, while those ending in 3, 4, 8, or 9 cents could be rounded up. Recommended Stories The change would only apply to cash transactions, and businesses may round in favor of the customer voluntarily. Credit cards, debit cards, checks, and other electronic payments would still be charged to the exact cent. Pennies already in circulation would also remain legal tender. The House is considering the measure under suspension of rules, which requires a two-thirds majority for passage. A version of the bill previously passed the chamber in July, and a Senate version passed last month. Because the chambers technically passed separate bills, the uniform legislation must clear both chambers before heading to President Donald Trump’s desk.Trump ordered the Treasury Department in February 2025 to stop producing new pennies, citing the rising cost of manufacturing the coin, which is worth only 1 cent. The U.S. Mint struck its final penny for general circulation in November 2025, ending the production of the first-ever coin in the country.By then, producing the penny costs roughly triple the coin’s tender value. The Treasury Department estimated that ending production would immediately save $56 million annually in material costs.ANTHROPIC CEO PITCHES AI SLOW-DOWN PLAN AFTER OPENAI-HUGGING FACE HACK: ‘WE OWE IT TO HUMANITY’But eliminating the production did not eliminate pennies themselves or establish federal rules for what businesses should do as the supply of coins dwindled. The Common Cents Act would provide a federal framework for businesses choosing to round transactions while formally ending penny production.The legislation would also allow the Treasury to explore producing a cheaper nickel, which also costs more to manufacture than it is worth, by having the inner layer of the coin be made of zinc.