By Heather Haddon

The lack of small change is creating big headaches for restaurants, which are asking the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury to help ease a growing penny shortage.

The National Restaurant Association trade group is imploring federal leaders to let coin terminals again dispense pennies to businesses. The Trump administration earlier this year moved to stop the minting of new pennies, and restaurants and retailers have run short sooner than expected as many coin depositories, operated by local banks and the Federal Reserve, have stopped circulating the coins.

"When operators can't provide exact change, it creates friction at checkout, frustrating customers," said National Restaurant Association CEO Michelle Korsmo in letters sent to the Treasury and Federal Reserve earlier this month.

Many business owners have resorted to rounding to make change for cash-paying customers, sometimes confusing clerks and customers. The association said most restaurant operators surveyed are for now rounding down, which at the industry level could cost U.S. restaurants around $160 million a year.

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December 10, 2025 17:40 ET (22:40 GMT)

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