Dive Brief:
- Kwik Trip has revealed a new cash transaction policy in response to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s decision to stop producing pennies, the c-store retailer announced last week.
- The Wisconsin-based retailer says that as its roughly 900 c-stores run out of pennies by location, those sites will round cash transactions down to the nearest 5 cents.
- Orders paid for with credit or debit cards or digital wallets will continue to charge the exact amount, according to the announcement.
Dive Insight:
Kwik Trip is the first major c-store company to publicly put a policy on pennies in place.
The Federal Reserve expects to stop producing pennies early next year. While current pennies will remain in circulation, they will become harder to get ahold of, leading to companies to put plans in place for when they’re gone.
While the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond suggested rounding to the nearest nickel, whether that increases or decreases the price, Kwik Trip has taken the more customer-friendly approach of always rounding down.
“At Kwik Trip, we’re committed to making everyday transactions simple and fair,” said Scott Zietlow, CEO and president of Kwik Trip, in the announcement. “We apologize for any confusion this may create for our guests.”
Kwik Trip says its policy will remain in place for all its locations until a permanent legislative solution is put in place. The company said that part of the reason for its new policy is that the government “has not provided guidance on how to proceed.”
This announcement comes amid a number of other changes for Kwik Trip, including the company’s expansion into North Dakota, electric vehicle charging program rollout and store remodeling project.
