SCHENECTADY — Supermarkets and convenience stores have been thrust once again into confronting the latest Trump administration policy decision that appears to have taken consumers by surprise: the death of the penny.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Mint said it had pressed its last 1-cent penny coin for general circulation. The phaseout sparked criticism from some retailers who said it was done with no federal guidance on how they should handle transactions, the Associated Press reported. The move has forced companies like Stewart’s Shops and Price Chopper/Market 32, which regularly handle lots of cash transactions during a typical day, to rapidly respond to concerns customers have and, in some cases, implement new policies.
Stewart’s spokesman Robin Cooper said in a phone interview on Wednesday that the company is putting up signs in all of its stores to let customers know its official penny policy is going into effect. The policy will automatically favor customers when it comes to rounding transactions when change can’t be made to the penny…