Are Pennies Being Discontinued? How register is Preparing Retailers for the Demise of the Penny

With the U.S. discontinuing the penny—depending on when you read this, the United States Mint may have already produced its final run of the coin that’s been around for 200 years, retailers who accept cash will soon see more transactions requiring rounding to the nearest five cents. While electronic payments will continue to process to the exact cent regardless of pennies being discontinued, cash payments may need to be rounded based on federal or state guidelines. Pennies no longer being made is already causing a shift that affects how totals are calculated, how change is given, and — highly pertinent to us and our register customers — how point-of-sale technology manages cash tendering.

To support retailers through pennies being discontinued, our team at register by ability business is building new functionality specifically for cash transaction rounding. These enhancements that are specific to the demise of the penny will:

• Automatically round cash transaction totals to the nearest five cents, following industry standards and emerging regulations
• View the original calculated total and the rounded amount on the Cash payment screen.
• Apply rounding only when cash is selected as the payment method, ensuring card and digital payments remain unchanged
• Maintain accuracy and consistency at checkout, reducing manual adjustments and potential errors, and making sure tills balance and match end-of-day reports

These updates to help manage the penny being discontinued were introduced in the January 2026, Version 1.4.0 release, along with educational resources in our wiki to help retailers understand how rounding works, when it applies, and what it means for their daily operations in a world where the penny is no longer being made.

As the retail environment adapts to nationwide changes brought about by discontinuing the penny, register by ability business remains committed to providing practical tools that help businesses stay compliant and deliver a smooth checkout experience.

For setup instructions that will walk you through the shifts caused by the penny being discontinued, examples, and FAQs, visit the Cash Transaction Rounding article in our wiki.

Additional Resources

• U.S. Mint – Penny Production Ending
  https://www.usmint.gov/news/press-releases
• Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond – Economic Analysis of Penny Costs and Cash Rounding
  https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/economic_brief/2025/eb_25-27
• Government of Canada – Rounding Cash Transactions After Penny Removal
  https://www.budget.canada.ca/2012/themes/theme2-eng.pdf
• Australia – Consumer Protection Guidance on Cash Rounding
  https://consumerprotection.wa.gov.au/rounding