Square Pilots Cash Rounding Functionality After Penny Production Ends

Square is piloting a cash rounding functionality with sellers in the United States to help them deal with the end of the penny.

The solution automatically rounds cash transactions to the nearest five cents, with one or two cents being rounded down to zero, three or four cents being rounded up to five cents, six or seven cents being rounded down to five cents, and eight or nine cents being rounded up to 10 cents, the company said in a Thursday (Dec. 11) press release.

In addition, as it has always done, Square enables back-end transaction reporting to help sellers report the total dollar amount of tax collected, according to the release.

Even before the U.S. Treasury stopped minting pennies, there were shortages of the coin, and sellers were telling Square that there were times when they could not make exact change, according to the release.

Nineteen percent of Square transactions in the U.S. are made with cash, and 16.7 million pennies change hands in these transactions each week, per the release. The highest volume of cash transactions takes place at food and beverage sellers.

The end of the penny has a real impact on sellers’ operations, and small sellers don’t have the sort of resources large chains have to adjust to this change, Willem Avé, global head of product at Square, said in the release.

“There are millions of neighborhood businesses who also have a critical need to maintain smooth operations,” Ave said. “They deserve the same level of support, and our job is to make sure they can keep serving their customers without missing a beat.”

The final circulating penny was produced Nov. 12. The cost of producing the coin had risen to 3.69 cents. By ceasing production, the U.S. Mint was expected to generate $56 million in annual savings.

It was reported in October that while retailers didn’t want the penny to stay around, they were seeking solutions for making exact change in retail transactions.

PYMNTS reported May 31 that the demise of the penny will not only save taxpayers millions of dollars but also streamline cash handling for businesses.