Kroger No Longer Giving Coins as Change to Customers

If you think on your $20.79 cash purchase at your local Kroger you'll be getting back a few dimes and a penny for your piggy bank, think again.

Kroger has announced that for the time being customers will not receive coin change from cash transactions. The decision was made due to a national coin shortage.

A spokesperson from Kroger, Erin Rofles, confirmed last week that the grocery chain  will no longer return coin change to customers. Instead, the remainders from cash transactions will be applied to customers’ loyalty cards and automatically used on their next purchase. Kroger is also encouraging their customers to consider "rounding up" to give support the company’s Zero Hunger/Zero Waste Foundation.

Kroger's decision isn't sitting well with some, with many customers taking to social media to voice their disapproval with the new coin policy. The shortage is very real according to reports. Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell said in a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee last month that, "the flow of coins through the economy has gotten all — it’s kind of stopped."

According to the report, the pandemic “has significantly disrupted the supply chain and normal circulation patterns for U.S. coin,” including pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, according to the Federal Reserve Banks. The situation has now caused stores, like Kroger, to adjust their customer service.

At the end of June, mega retail-grocery giant Meijer announced they would be accepting only cash in their self check-out lane. Their decision was also due to the coin shortage created by the coronavirus pandemic.