The House of Representatives has passed the Common Cents Act, a bill that would enable businesses to round cash transactions to the nearest nickel, effectively phasing out the penny for everyday purchases.
Under the proposed legislation, the penny would remain legal tender and retain its one-cent value. However, individuals and businesses would have the option to round cash transactions when exact change cannot be provided. Amounts ending in 1, 2, 6, or 7 as the last cent digit could be rounded down to the nearest nickel, while amounts ending in 3, 4, 8, or 9 could be rounded up.
This move follows a previous decision by the U.S. government under President Donald Trump to stop manufacturing new pennies for circulation due to the cost of production exceeding the coin's face value. Despite the cessation of new penny production, the Treasury Department stated that the Federal Reserve will continue to recirculate approximately 114 billion pennies for as long as feasible.