The coins in your pocket and the card in your wallet are starting to change the final price you pay at checkout. With the U.S. Mint ending penny production last year and more retailers adding fees for card payments, customers are increasingly seeing different totals depending on how they pay.
Payments are shifting from coins to cards
Federal Reserve research tracking consumer payments shows a steady move away from cash. In 2025 people averaged about 47 transactions a month, and credit cards accounted for the largest share—roughly 16 of those transactions—followed closely by debit cards and far fewer cash purchases.
That contrasts with a decade earlier when cash was still the dominant method. The shift matters because it changes which policy debates and business decisions affect everyday spending.
Older adults, rural residents and lower-income households still rely on bills and coins more than others, the Fed found, so policy changes around cash handling have uneven effects across the population.
What the end of penny production means
Last November the U.S. Mint stopped minting pennies at its Philadelphia plant, ending more than two centuries of continuous production. Manufacturing costs had outpaced face value: by the end of the run it cost several cents to make a single penny, even though the coin’s worth one cent.
There are still roughly 300 billion pennies circulating, but merchants and lawmakers are preparing for a practical transition: if exact change isn’t available, totals could be rounded to the nearest nickel.
States and Congress moving on rounding rules
About 20 states have already passed laws that permit or require some form of cash rounding, according to a legislative tracker maintained by a compliance group focused on currency policy. Other states are considering similar measures.
On the federal level, a bipartisan proposal known as the Common Cents Act would let merchants round a cash total to the nearest five cents when exact change isn’t feasible, but it would not force businesses to round. The two chambers of Congress have approved different versions, so lawmakers still need to reconcile the bills before the proposal could become law.
Why merchants are adopting surcharges
Beyond rounding, shoppers may also face higher costs when using credit cards. Many smaller merchants have begun adding **credit card surcharges** to customer bills to help cover rising card-processing expenses.
“Smaller retailers are increasingly looking to recoup costs where they can,” said Crystal Kaldjob, a partner in Goodwin Procter’s financial industry practice in Washington. She said merchants want clearer rules so they can adopt consistent checkout policies for cash customers.
Industry data show why they’re feeling pressure: average card processing fees—often called **swipe fees**—have climbed over the last decade. The National Retail Federation reports that the typical fee on card transactions was larger in 2024 than in 2010, and the Nilson Report estimated credit-card spending jumped to about $6.46 trillion in 2024 while processing fees rose faster than spending.
How the legal landscape could change merchant behavior
A long-running antitrust case brought by retailers against Visa and Mastercard, originally filed in 2005, has produced a proposed settlement that would reduce some interchange fees and allow merchants to refuse higher-fee card products. That could give merchants more leverage to steer customers toward cheaper payment options.
But trade groups representing retailers remain skeptical of the deal’s value. Dylan Jeon, vice president for government relations at the National Retail Federation, said the proposed terms fall short of addressing deeper competition issues in the card system. Mastercard, however, has maintained that the settlement strikes the right balance among the parties involved.
- Practical outcome for shoppers: Cash totals could be rounded to the nearest five cents in many places, meaning small changes in what you hand over could slightly raise or lower the receipt amount.
- Card users: Paying with credit may include a surcharge at some small merchants, intended to offset higher processing costs.
- Who’s affected most: People who rely on cash—often older, rural, or lower-income consumers—may see disproportionate impacts from rounding rules.
- Watch for changes: Pending federal legislation and state laws will determine how widespread rounding becomes and whether merchants can broadly add surcharges.
For everyday shoppers, the upshot is simple: your payment choice is likely to alter the final price. As lawmakers and courts sort out regulations and settlements, both rounding policies and card fees will shape the way retailers handle transactions at the point of sale.
Keep an eye on local rules and posted payment policies at stores. Retailers that adopt surcharges or rounding procedures are required to disclose them at checkout in most jurisdictions, so a quick glance before you pay can help avoid surprises.
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Jordan Keller specializes in analyzing the US financial markets. With concrete recommendations, he helps you secure and boost your investments by providing strategies that adapt to market fluctuations.