Senate sends penny bill supported by banks to Trump's desk
New legislation allows retailers to round cash transactions to the nearest nickel, signaling the beginning of the end for the penny at the point of sale.
Curated by Financing Your Way from original reporting by American Banker — Top News. Summary is AI-assisted and editorially reviewed — see our editorial standards.
This legislation directly affects how you handle cash at the point of sale. If signed into law, the bill allows retailers, banks, and credit unions to round cash transactions to the nearest nickel. This move is part of a broader federal effort to phase out the penny due to high production costs. For your business, this means a shift in daily register operations and accounting. While digital and card payments remain unaffected, your staff will need training on new rounding rules for cash customers. Generally, transactions ending in .01, .02, .06, or .07 would round down, while .03, .04, .08, and .09 would round up to the nearest five-cent increment. This helps speed up checkout lines and reduces the logistical burden of ordering and storing pennies. However, it is important to communicate these changes clearly to customers to avoid friction at the register. Even if your business relies heavily on consumer financing or credit, your down payments and small-ticket cash sales will be governed by this new standard. Keep an eye on your POS software updates, as providers will likely automate these rounding rules once the bill is finalized.
Source: American Banker — Top News
Related coverage from across the industry
- Licensing process is key to yield in OCC stablecoin ruleAmerican Banker — Top News · Oct 23, 2026Read our summary →
- How bank compliance leaders are engaging with regulatorsAmerican Banker — Top News · Oct 23, 2026Read our summary →
- Plum secures FCA approval to deliver Targeted SupportFinextra — Lending · Oct 23, 2026Read our summary →
- UK and EU financial regulators seek answers from Google over cloud outageFinextra — Lending · Oct 22, 2026Read our summary →
- Treasury tallies $270M in suspicious financial aid transactionsPayments Dive · Oct 22, 2026Read our summary →
- Onity sues New York to clarify servicing fee charge rulesAmerican Banker — Top News · Oct 21, 2026Read our summary →
