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You’ve likely heard the news: on November 12, 2025, the U.S. Mint struck its final circulating penny, ending 232 years of production. While the U.S. Treasury has not yet released a formal phase-out plan, change will come gradually as pennies recirculate and become less available in everyday transactions.

At Pioneer Bank, we’re taking a thoughtful, customer-first approach to ensure transactions remain simple, fair, and accurate.

As pennies slowly exit circulation, we will take practical steps to support our customers and local businesses:

• Accepting penny deposits
  We will continue to accept penny deposits and encourage customers to bring in coins sitting at home, helping keep existing pennies in circulation.
• Limiting penny withdrawals
  With no new supply being produced, we may limit penny rolls for business customers to extend availability.
• Crediting leftover cents
  In the future, we may credit odd cents directly to customer accounts when exact cash amounts aren’t available (for example, $50.52 would be paid as $50 in cash plus a $0.52 account credit). We’ll clearly announce this policy in advance.
• Rounding cash transactions
  When pennies are unavailable, cash totals may be rounded to the nearest nickel—an approach widely discussed across the community-banking industry and examined by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Electronic payments will always remain exact to the cent.
• Promoting digital payments
  Debit cards, mobile wallets, ACH, and other electronic payments are unaffected by the penny change and continue to post exact amounts.
• Engaging our communities
  We’ll support coin-recirculation efforts to help ease the transition for customers and businesses alike.

What This Means for Day-to-Day Purchases

Businesses handling cash transactions may choose one of the following rounding approaches when pennies are not available:

Option 1:
Round all cash transactions up to the nearest $0.05.

Option 2 (Nearest-Nickel Rounding):

• Totals ending in $0.01, $0.02, $0.06, or $0.07 round down
• Totals ending in $0.03, $0.04, $0.08, or $0.09 round up
• Totals ending in $0.00 or $0.05 remain the same

There is no change to electronic transactions—online, card, ACH, and mobile payments always post exact to the cent.

How Pioneer Bank Will Support You

As national guidance evolves, you can expect:

• Clear signage and teller support explaining any cash-rounding practices
• Receipts that show both the original amount and rounded cash total
• Payment options—including contactless and digital—so you can preserve exact cents
• Community coin-recirculation campaigns with local partners

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my account balances or interest calculations change?
No. Account balances, interest accruals, statements, and electronic transactions remain exact to the cent.

Do I need to roll pennies before depositing them?
No. You may bring in loose or rolled pennies—we’ll help ensure they recirculate efficiently.

Is rounding fair?
Yes. Nearest-nickel rounding is designed to balance out over time, keeping outcomes fair overall.

Will businesses use different rounding methods?
Some may. Pioneer Bank will clearly communicate any approach we adopt, and merchants may post their own policies at checkout.

Staying Informed

We’ll continue sharing updates as the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve provide additional guidance.

Fun fact: The final 696 pennies struck sold at auction for more than $16 million in December.