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The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia

(www.cnn.com)
334 points andrewl | 12 comments | 12 Nov 25 16:10 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source | bottom
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nayuki ◴[12 Nov 25 16:41 UTC] No.45902294[source]▶
We eliminated pennies in Canada in 2012 and the transition was a non-issue. The vast majority of retailers would round cash transactions to the nearest $0.05, but a few would round down to the nearest $0.05 in favor of the customer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawal_of_low-denomination...

Canadian cash is better than American cash in several ways: No penny, durable polymer banknotes (instead of dirty wrinkly cotton paper), colorful banknotes (instead of all green) that are easy to distinguish, $1 and $2 coins in wide circulation (instead of worn-out $1 bills).

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simonw ◴[12 Nov 25 16:42 UTC] No.45902306[source]▶
The linked article raises a few problems that the US could have with that solution:

> Four states - Delaware, Connecticut, Michigan and Oregon - as well as numerous cities, including New York, Philadelphia, Miami and Washington, DC, require merchants to provide exact change.

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1. ianferrel ◴[12 Nov 25 16:53 UTC] No.45902457[source]▶
This seems like a non-issue as long as they round the price down. Because there's no law that the store can't discount their total by a small amount and then provide exact change.

"Congratulations customer, we have a special coupon today for $0.03 off your purchase. Here's your change :)"

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2. MostlyStable ◴[12 Nov 25 16:57 UTC] No.45902522[source]▶
I don't see why you couldn't do it in either case. If you modify the actual price, then you are giving exact change. Why wouldn't round() be as valid a price modification as floor()?
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3. simonw ◴[12 Nov 25 17:12 UTC] No.45902714[source]▶
> In addition, the law covering the federal food assistance program known as SNAP requires that recipients not be charged more than other customers. Since SNAP recipients use a debit card that’s charged the precise amount, if merchants round down prices for cash purchases, they could be opening themselves to legal problems and fines, said Jeff Lenard, spokesperson for NACS.
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4. simonw ◴[12 Nov 25 17:33 UTC] No.45903024[source]▶
Maybe sales tax makes that harder?

I guess you could calculate all of your prices such that, once sales tax is added, they round to a 5 cent value.

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5. giantg2 ◴[12 Nov 25 17:50 UTC] No.45903254[source]▶
So how do they account for people who use coupons or rewards cards today? Those create a discount that technically result in charging some customers less than others, including SNAP users. In the case of rounding, you wouldn't be charging SNAP user any more that other users who use cards for payment. The point of the law was to prevent stores from charging surcharges etc on food stamp users back in the day.
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6. darthcircuit ◴[12 Nov 25 17:56 UTC] No.45903348[source]▶
When I lived in Australia, those paying with card were charged the exact amount. Those paying cash would round to the nearest 5 cents, in the customer’s favor. I suspect the same will happen here.
7. kevin_thibedeau ◴[12 Nov 25 17:59 UTC] No.45903403{3}[source]▶
Rewards are taken from merchant fees. The retailer isn't party to that rebate. Likewise, coupons are almost always funded by the manufacturer who returns those monies to the store.
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8. ◴[12 Nov 25 18:01 UTC] No.45903421[source]▶
9. SoftTalker ◴[12 Nov 25 18:08 UTC] No.45903533{3}[source]▶
You don't need to do that. Compute the total sale, then figure the tax, then round. You don't need to round per item.
10. dghlsakjg ◴[12 Nov 25 18:14 UTC] No.45903617[source]▶
So just round snap transactions too, not just cash ones. Now SNAP recipients are never paying more than any other customer for the same basket of goods.
11. giantg2 ◴[12 Nov 25 19:55 UTC] No.45905480{4}[source]▶
"Rewards are taken from merchant fees."

That would be true for credit card fees, but not for stuff like loyalty card discounts.

"Likewise, coupons are almost always funded by the manufacturer who returns those monies to the store."

It doesn't matter. The store is the one charging the customer. As stated, the law says the store cannot charge SNAP recipients more. Thus it would be a violation if we are taking it strictly.

12. ianferrel ◴[12 Nov 25 20:11 UTC] No.45905788[source]▶
Presumably "increase the price a small amount to avoid giving exact change" is exactly the sort of thing that laws requiring giving exact change were designed to prevent.

There will surely be some customer pissed about the extra 2 cents they were charged who will raise hell over the exact change law.

But what customer is going to be upset over a small discount?