Axios - America is running out of pennies far faster than expected — and retailers are scrambling with rounding rules, cash-register math headaches and what some call a "legal minefield."
Ending penny production was supposed to simplify cash payments. Instead, it's colliding with the holiday rush and legions of math-averse Americans.Many shoppers don't understand what happens when $4.73 becomes $4.75.
"The growth of stores that are out of pennies is exponential," Austen Jensen of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) tells Axios. Some businesses have posted signs explaining the rounding tax.
Stores are posting signs, retraining cashiers, spending millions on tech fixes and — in many cases — rounding down to avoid disputes, thus eating the cost.
The Food Industry Association says the shortage creates legal and compliance challenges, especially for SNAP transactions that require exact pricing. That makes rounding legally tricky. The burden falls hardest on low-income and older Americans. More
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