No pennies? No problem: Here’s how McDonald’s restaurants are dealing with exact change for customers

When you plonk your cash on the counter at McDonald’s in the U.S., you may notice that your change might not always match what’s printed on the receipt. Don’t worry, the person opposite you isn’t forgetting their basic numerical skills, it is in fact a new policy due to the shortage of pennies in circulation.

Because the one-cent coin is officially on the way out, some McDonald’s branches are now rounding cash payments to the nearest five cents. The policy only applies when you pay with cash, card and mobile payments are unaffected.

Here’s how it works: if your purchase leaves a remainder of 1 or 2 cents, the total is rounded down to zero extra cents; if it ends in 3 or 4, it’s rounded up to five cents; 6 or 7 cents go down to five; and 8 or 9 cents go up to ten. Totals ending in 0 or 5 cents stay as they are.

The reason behind why the change is happening now lies in the disappearance of the penny from production. The United States Mint stopped minting pennies due to rising costs, with each penny reportedly costing more than its face value to make.

With fewer coins in circulation and - wait for it - no official federal rounding guidelines in place, retailers have simply been left to adapt on their own.

This has, understandably, stirred a sense of frustration among the already angry American public who are seeing their country turn back to the ways of the wild west. Some view the rounding as unfair, since even those few spare cents add up when you buy often, and question whether it’s even legal in states where exact change is required.

McDonald’s says it is working with government agencies to find a national standard moving forward. The company told USA Today: “We have a team actively working on long-term solutions to keep things simple and fair for customers. This is an issue affecting all retailers across the country, and we will continue to work with the federal government to obtain guidance on this matter going forward.”

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For now, though, if you’re handing over a few dollars in cash at McDonald’s, be ready: your change may look a little different than you expect.

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