by Abbey Weltman
The U.S. is grappling with a coin shortage brought on by fewer in-person shoppers. Businesses are rounding their prices to the nearest dollar or asking customers to use credit or debit cards because of the coin shortage.
Some College Park businesses have seen a drastic impact on their business, while others have seen very little change.
The College Park McDonald’s is one of the stores facing the brunt of this shortage. General Manager Torronda Brown said McDonald’s used to receive more than 500 coins per week — until it suddenly received less and less without warning.
“I don’t think we’ve been able to get over $500 in just quarters every week And we haven’t been able to do that since July.” since July, Brown said. “Sometimes we didn’t even get coins at all, and it’s not just this particular location.”
It’s gotten to the point where employees have brought jugs of coins to the store so they can give out change, she said. The store has also put up signs informing customers about the coin shortage.
Looney’s Pub has also faced the coin shortage crunch. Waitress Kayla Scott said Looney’s has stopped giving customers change.
“We don’t really have coins,” she said.
Ken Castle, the manager of Blaze Pizza in College Park, said he saw the shortage first hand at local stores in College Park.
“I was going to the grocery store in July when I first started noticing where there was no coins,” Castle said, “and some places weren’t accepting cash at all at that point.”
But it hasn’t impacted Blaze Pizza much, Castle said, since most customers carry a credit card or their phone with them anyway.
“Cash has kind of taken the backseat in the last 20 years,” he said.
The University of Maryland’s Dining Services hasn’t seen a big impact either. Convenience shops briefly displayed signs asking customers to provide exact change, but took them down because they didn’t make much of an impact, said Bart Hipple, the assistant director of communications.
And cash is barely used on campus anyway — students use credit cards, Dining Dollars and Terrapin Express debit accounts, he added. The coronavirus pandemic might even push cash to the brink of extinction, the assistant director said.
“Since your parents were little, we all knew money was dirty and you wash your hands,” he said. “Now it’s even more so.”
Potomac Pizza Manager Stephanie Bonitas said the coin shortage hasn’t been a problem for the restaurant either, even though it is a problem for many other restaurants.
Shoppers have had to adapt to the coin shortage as well. Alex Turner, a sophomore at UMD, said she used to pay with cash everywhere but stopped because it’s become inconvenient because of the coin shortage.
“Now if I bring cash, it’s for an emergency,” the communications major said. “It’s become sort of a last resort.”
Featured image: A sign at Blaze Pizza in College Park asks customers to use exact cash or a credit or debit card. Photo by Abbey Weltman.