Most active commenters

    ←back to thread

    The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia

    (www.cnn.com)
    334 points andrewl | 11 comments | 12 Nov 25 16:10 UTC | HN request time: 1.166s | source | bottom
    Show context
    Amorymeltzer ◴[12 Nov 25 18:05 UTC] No.45903482[source]▶
    Some interesting complications with rounding I had not heard about before were mentioned here, worth noting I think, especially given the prominence of SNAP in the news lately:

    >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, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).

    >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.

    >“Rounding down on all transactions presents several challenges beyond the loss of an average of 2 cents per transaction,” Lenard said. “We desperately need legislation that allows rounding so retailers can make change for these customers.”

    replies(5): >>45903640 #>>45903663 #>>45903907 #>>45904222 #>>45906009 #
    1. phantom784 ◴[12 Nov 25 18:15 UTC] No.45903640[source]▶
    For the SNAP law, could they just round down SNAP purchases in the same way to be compliant?
    replies(2): >>45903681 #>>45904144 #
    2. mattnewton ◴[12 Nov 25 18:17 UTC] No.45903681[source]▶
    They probably will, but that means a POS software update on a tight deadline.
    replies(1): >>45904979 #
    3. anticorporate ◴[12 Nov 25 18:45 UTC] No.45904144[source]▶
    The SNAP equal treatment rule requirement works in both directions: Prices cannot be higher or lower for SNAP recipients. As a retailer, there is an option to request a waiver, though.
    replies(2): >>45904221 #>>45904364 #
    4. phantom784 ◴[12 Nov 25 18:50 UTC] No.45904221[source]▶
    How does this work with coupons, discount for loyalty card holders, etc.?

    Presumably that's fine because a SNAP recipient has access to those same discounts. So wouldn't this be the same - the "cash rounding" discount is available to SNAP and people paying cash?

    replies(1): >>45906426 #
    5. jkaplowitz ◴[12 Nov 25 18:57 UTC] No.45904364[source]▶
    So, that sounds like a yes, they could round up or down SNAP purchases just like cash purchases.
    replies(1): >>45904570 #
    6. Uvix ◴[12 Nov 25 19:06 UTC] No.45904570{3}[source]▶
    No, because they'd still be paying less/more than people paying with credit cards, debit cards, or checks.
    replies(2): >>45905154 #>>45905513 #
    7. wongarsu ◴[12 Nov 25 19:27 UTC] No.45904979[source]▶
    It's not like pennies just cease existing. You just can't buy them from the mint anymore.

    I bet if you give customers an easy and free way to deposit change or to turn it into larger denominations you easily get enough pennies to delay ther update a couple years

    replies(1): >>45905235 #
    8. wat10000 ◴[12 Nov 25 19:36 UTC] No.45905154{4}[source]▶
    Round them all. Why is this so difficult?
    9. mattnewton ◴[12 Nov 25 19:40 UTC] No.45905235{3}[source]▶
    There are a lot of solutions, as everyone has mentioned. The problem is not hard, it’s “what color to paint the bikeshed” territory. But we’re still having to solve a problem on a tight deadline based on a tweeted proclamation with no federal legislature specifying exactly what solutions are allowed and what solutions conflict with existing law.
    10. ◴[12 Nov 25 19:56 UTC] No.45905513{4}[source]▶
    11. rtkwe ◴[12 Nov 25 20:48 UTC] No.45906426{3}[source]▶
    Anyone can have a coupon the law is about not special fees or discounts to SNAP recipients, and since EBT/SNAP cards are essentially debit cards them always being charged exact change could be litigated as differential pricing in theory, which in a country as big and sue happy as the US means someone will try it eventually.