Fewer pennies, more problems: Why retailers are pleading for exact change

A sign at a Target in Astoria, Queens.

Paul Squire/Business Insider

• Retailers are putting up signs at cash registers warning customers that they're out of pennies.
• Some are rounding cash transactions, while others are simply asking for exact change.
• The US struck its last pennies for public use in 2025 but lacks a law about how to make change.

As the US one-cent coin disappears from circulation, stores are putting up signs asking for exact change or advising customers that their change will be rounded.