The Surprising Reason Kroger Will No Longer Give Change In Coins

Are you one of those last holdouts who still prefers to pay in cash instead of putting everything on the card or using an app? Actually, you're not alone in this. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco published findings for 2019 showing that 35 percent of all in-person payments were still made with cash, and what may be even more surprising, the group most likely to use cash wasn't nostalgic senior citizens, it was actually millennials.

While cash payments may have fallen out of favor these days due to fear of germ transmission, they are still accepted by most retailers, including grocery stores. One large grocery chain, however, has just announced that if you do choose to use cash in their stores and you're not some kind of mathematical genius capable of making sure that your total purchase amount plus tax ends in the magic digits .00, well, you may just find yourself going home short-changed. Or rather, no-changed. Yes, Kroger will no longer be giving coins out as change. Woe when you wish to purchase $1.01 worth of anything, since you may find yourself paying a nearly 100 percent markup.

No, this move has nothing to do with the fact that coins tend to be dirty (although Numismatic News confirms that they are very dirty indeed) and everything to do with the fact that coins are now the approximately 3 billion and sixth item that the U.S. is suffering a shortage of at present. According to a Kroger spokesperson (via News Channel 5), "We know this is an inconvenience for our customers and we appreciate their patience." This situation isn't expected to last forever, though, since they went on to explain that "the Treasury Department expects the shortage to diminish as more regions of the country reopen."

So, okay, one more temporary hitch in our giddy-up, we're getting pretty used to those. But just what are your options going to be, should you be shopping at Kroger and wish to pay with cash? The chain's preferred option is that you rethink that decision and pull out a card. Option number two, should you be a loyalty card holder, involves their loading what would have been your change onto your card as a future cents-off coupon. Finally, Kroger will allow you to just donate the amount owed to their charitable Zero Hunger, Zero Waste Foundation. Should you simply need to get quarters to do a load of laundry, though... well, you're out of luck there. Maybe better pick up some Febreze and hope it won't mess up your carefully-calculated grocery bill.