A Penny for Your Thoughts

Conference Registration

Session Details

Date: Monday, June 29

Time: 4:45 pm - 5:35 pm CT

1 CPE credits

Level: basic

Field of Study: Management Services

In 2025, the United States federal government stopped producing new pennies. Anticipating a penny crunch, some retailers are moving away from using "cents" in financial transactions by rounding cash transactions up or down to the nearest nickel, but depending on state and local laws, governments may not be able to round tax and fee transactions.

This session will discuss various ways governments are addressing the potential penny shortage and what actions may come from the federal government to help state and local governments establish laws and practices going forward. Insights from banking partners and from Canadian members, who dealt with the elimination of the penny over a decade ago, will be included in the discussion.

Learning Objectives

Explain the legal, operational, and policy challenges state and local governments face as the use of pennies declines
Analyze approaches governments have taken to address rounding, billing, cash-handling, and reconciliation issues associated with the penny shortage
Evaluate potential federal, state, and local actions and peer practices to determine how your entity may change its policies and procedures in cents billing and collections