Since the U.S. Treasury halted the production of pennies earlier this year, some businesses, including McDonald’s, have adapted their payment options to keep up with the times and ensure transactions run smoothly amid resulting penny shortages.
A representative for McDonald’s USA confirmed to ABC News that some locations of the fast food chain have implemented a new system to round up or down to the nearest 5 cents on cash payments, if a customer does not have exact change.
STOCK IMAGE/Getty Images – PHOTO: Pennies, pennies
“Following the discontinuation of pennies nationwide, some McDonald’s locations may not be able to provide exact change. We have a team actively working on long-term solutions to keep things simple and fair for customers,” the company said in a statement.
STOCK IMAGE/Getty Images – PHOTO: In this Feb. 9, 2022, file photo, a McDonald’s Restaurant is shown inside Terminal B of Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Fla.
It added, “This is an issue affecting all retailers across the country, and we will continue to work with the federal government to obtain guidance on this matter going forward.”
McDonald’s franchisees set their own promos and specific pricing, and one eagle-eyed customer noticed and posted a photo on Reddit of such a change at a Bear Family Restaurants location in Chicago last week.
McDonald’s reiterated to ABC News that the nearest 5-cent rounding does not impact or apply to card payments or other cashless options.
STOCK IMAGE/Getty Images – PHOTO: In this Feb. 23, 2020, file photo, people using the self service kiosks to place their orders at a McDonald’s Restaurant in Portland International Airport, in Portland, Oregon.
For the majority of customers who pay using credit or debit cards, or via the app, it’s business as usual.
In other countries that have undergone currency changes, local businesses have followed similar rounding practices.
