McDonald’s introduces cash rounding policy as United States prepares to phase out penny
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McDonald’s has quietly changed how it handles cash transactions in response to the forthcoming phase-out of the penny in the United States. Under the new policy, if a cash purchase ends in 1–2 ¢, the total is rounded down to 0 ¢; if it ends in 3–4 ¢, it is rounded up to 5 ¢; endings in 6–7 ¢ are rounded down to 5 ¢; and 8–9 ¢ are rounded up to 10 ¢. Totals ending in 0 or 5 ¢ remain unchanged.
Importantly, prices listed on the menu stay the same. The change applies only to cash payments—card and digital payments still process the exact cents.
Why the shift? The United States Department of the Treasury will stop minting new pennies by early 2026 due to production costs that exceed the coin’s value. In 2024, the Treasury reportedly lost $85.3 million from minting over three billion pennies. With fewer pennies in circulation, retailers are beginning to adopt “cash-rounding” methods. Other businesses like Kwik Trip and Sheetz have already introduced similar policies.
Reactions among customers have been mixed. Some argue the practice is confusing and feels like a hidden price increase, especially when rounding goes up.
“Why not just change the damn prices?” one commenter asked.
Others point out that countries such as Canada and Australia have operated with similar rounding systems for years and find the move practical.
From your vantage, it raises interesting questions about cash, convenience and fairness. If you pay by cash at McDonald’s, you may pay as little as two cents less—or as much as one to four cents more—than the listed total. For card users, nothing changes. And given that cash usage is already declining, this shift might pass unnoticed for many. Yet for people paying in cash, especially frequent-small-amount customers, it’s something to keep an eye on.
