Recently, there has been a fair amount of activity on one of the listservs I follow about the impending penny shortage. Some areas are already feeling the impact, so if your office isn’t yet, you may soon.

Production of pennies was scheduled to end early next year, but the U.S. Mint ran out of blanks for pennies and recently produced the last pennies. It is estimated that there are over 250 billion pennies still in circulation, but many of them are stashed away in glass jars and shoeboxes.

How will your office handle a possible penny shortage? Let’s examine some options for how other utilities are addressing the penny predicament.

Going cashless

One option to solve the penny predicament (and all other coins, as well) is to go cashless. Utilities that have gone cashless don’t have to contend with making change or preparing bank deposits. They don’t even have to go to the bank at all if they are using a check scanner to make remote deposits.

Carry small balances

Unlike a retail environment, where each transaction stands on its own, most utility payments are applied to an existing account balance. If your customer pays by cash and you don’t have pennies to make exact change, they will simply carry a credit balance of a few cents in lieu of receiving change. Alternatively, you could allow customers to underpay by a few pennies and not penalize very small past-due balances.

Are you prepared for the penny predicament?

Has your utility decided how to deal with the penny predicament? If you haven’t, please call me at 919-673-4050 or email me at gary@utilityinformationpipeline.com to learn how a business review can help you prepare.

© 2025 Gary Sanders