Due to an ongoing, and in some respect, a worsening nationwide coin shortage, The Kroger Company has stopped returning coins to cash-paying customers. At the same time, remainders can be donated to a charity or transferred to the customers’ loyalty cards, reported NewsChannel 5 Nashville WTVF.
Kroger officials said, “at Kroger, we are implementing several creative solutions to minimize the impact to our customers…We know this is an inconvenience for our customers, and we appreciate their patience. The Treasury Department expects the shortage to diminish as more regions of the country reopen.”
Dayton Daily News, a sister publication of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, spoke with Kroger spokeswoman Erin Rolfes who said the Federal Reserve is experiencing a coin shortage.
Last month, the Federal Reserve warned coin disruptions were coming due to the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown of the economy.
Here’s an excerpt of the warning:
“The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted the supply chain and normal circulation patterns for U.S. coin.
“In the past few months, coin deposits from depository institutions to the Federal Reserve have declined significantly, and the U.S. Mint’s production of the coin also decreased due to measures put in place to protect its employees.”
In late June, supermarket chain Meijer Inc. told customers at 250 stores that “self-checkout registers” will only accept “electronic payment only” due to a “national coin shortage.”
Google search trend shows “coin shortage” has hit a record high, began erupting in early June.