The Brief

Retailers and banks across the U.S. are feeling the penny pinch after President Donald Trump’s decision to abruptly stop producing the penny earlier this year.

With no guidance from the federal government on how to phase out the coins , many stores are left pleading for customers to pay in exact change – and costing businesses millions by rounding down to avoid lawsuits.

The penny problem

What they're saying:

Banks and retailers say they support the elimination of the penny, but they thought there would be a plan to phase them out, not abruptly stop making them.

"We have been advocating abolition of the penny for 30 years. But this is not the way we wanted it to go," Jeff Lenard with the National Association of Convenience Stores told The Associated Press.

One convenie

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