With pennies officially being phased out in 2026, McDonald’s is tweaking how it handles cash. A spokesperson for McDonald’s USA told ABC News that certain locations are now rounding total cash transactions to the nearest five cents if customers don’t have exact change.
“Following the discontinuation of pennies nationwide, some McDonald’s locations may not be able to provide exact change. We have a team actively working on long-term solutions to keep things simple and fair for customers,” the company said in a statement.
They also emphasized that this isn’t just a McDonald’s problem.
“This is an issue affecting all retailers across the country, and we will continue to work with the federal government to obtain guidance on this matter going forward,” the fast food chain added.
To be clear, for Mickey D’s customers using a card or mobile app, nothing changes. The rounding only affects cash payments. McDonald’s stressed that digital transactions remain untouched.
Similar practices have already been adopted in other countries facing coin shortages or currency shifts.
