Congress has cleared the Common Cents Act, sending legislation to President Donald Trump that establishes national rules for rounding cash transactions. The Senate’s September 28 action follows the U.S. Mint’s decision to halt penny production in 2025, bringing an end to the 1-cent coin after 234 years.
Senate Action and the Path to the President’s Desk
The U.S. Senate passed H.R. 10167 by unanimous consent on September 28, advancing the bipartisan Common Cents Act to President Donald Trump for his expected signature. The legislation formalizes the Trump administration’s decision to stop manufacturing the penny last year. Lawmakers in the House had previously approved the measure with bipartisan support on September 14, setting up the final legislative clearance.
Production of the 1-cent coin officially stopped in 2025, but the new bill provides the formal statutory framework for phasing out a currency first minted after the U.S. Mint was established in 1792. According to the government, making a single penny costs almost 4 cents, and halting production generates immediate savings of $56 million annually. Reps. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., and Robert Garcia, D-Calif., sponsored the measure in the House, while Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., sponsored related legislation in the Senate.
New Cash-Rounding Rules and Retailer Protections
With pennies disappearing from daily commerce, the legislation establishes clear operational guidelines for stores and cash handlers. Businesses that lack exact change are authorized to round transactions up or down to the nearest 5 cents. The rules apply exclusively to physical cash payments, leaving electronic transactions, checks, and credit cards calculated to the exact cent. Pennies already residing in circulation remain legal tender.
Retailers and restaurants had spent months lobbying for federal intervention. As penny circulation dwindled, merchants faced mounting operational uncertainty and the threat of litigation over how to handle cash drawers lacking exact change. Before Congress stepped in, many food service operators felt compelled to round transaction totals down out of legal caution, a practice that the National Restaurant Association estimated could cost operators $13 million to $14 million each month.
Banking Sector Relief and Regulatory Adjustments
Financial institutions join merchants in welcoming the legislation. Banking trade groups had previously clashed with federal regulators when regional Federal Reserve banks moved to stop accepting penny deposits and processing orders at coin terminal locations without a uniform rounding framework. The American Bankers Association warned at the time that those regional restrictions created an untenable operational environment.
Although the Fed eventually reversed those specific deposit restrictions, banks still faced heavy operational burdens.
The newly passed act provides a federal safe harbor from liability for businesses that follow its rounding requirements. TD Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg noted that the legislation removes substantial legal exposure for both lenders and merchants, who otherwise faced the financial penalty of rounding every cash transaction downward in the customer’s favor to avoid lawsuits.
Modifications to Coin Composition and Future Treasury Oversight
Beyond cash rounding, the final version of the Common Cents Act incorporates structural changes for other circulating U.S. coinage. The statute grants the Treasury secretary authority to look at new, less expensive compositions for manufacturing nickels, specifically permitting an inner layer of zinc. The 5-cent coin currently relies on an alloy of nickel and copper, making zinc a cheaper alternative as demand for the nickel increases alongside the penny’s exit.
Lawmakers also inserted a notification requirement absent from earlier House drafts. The Treasury Department must now give Congress a 60-day advance notice before discontinuing any other circulating coin in the future, securing a stronger legislative check on currency adjustments.
Restaurant Industry Adaptation and Bipartisan Reception
For the restaurant industry — where more than one in four transactions are still paid in cash and profit margins hover around 3% against rising food and labor costs — the federal standardization offers welcome relief. Sean Kennedy, chief advocacy officer for the National Restaurant Association, praised the cross-aisle cooperation that carried the bill through both chambers.
With the Senate's unanimous approval securely on record, the legislation awaits President Trump's signature to codify post-penny commercial rules nationwide.