You can go ahead and add coin circulation to the list of things impacted by COVID-19.
The United States has recently begun experiencing a decrease in the amount of quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies in circulation due to the ongoing pandemic.
Larie Schoap, vice president of ESB Financial, says the shortage began when the United States Mint, the government bureau responsible for coin production, started limiting the number of on-site workers to prevent the spread COVID-19, leading to a decrease in coin production.
“The Federal Reserve orders coins from the U.S. Mint and the Federal Reserve determines how many coins the banks can have,” Schoap said. “When there’s a shortage, that makes it tough because there was a partial closure around the United States of the economy, so therefore, the flow of coins stopped.”
A few Manhattan businesses have adopted policies to adapt to the shortage.
One grocery-store chain that has multiple stores located in Manhattan will no longer give customers coin change. It will instead giving customers the option of either donating what they are owed in coin change to charity or putting that same amount on a card that can be applied to a future purchase.
According to Schoap, since the Federal Reserve limits how many coins banks can have, people can help the local economy by depositing coins into a bank account.
“Since the Federal Reserve has put a restriction on the number of coins banks can order, by bringing your coins here to the bank, you’re helping the local economy and businesses that need coins,” Schoap said.
ESB Financial offers a coin counter that anyone can use for free and then either leave with the coins or cash or make a deposit.
The Federal Reserve recently established a 22-person U.S. Coin Task Force to come up with a set of recommendations organizations can use to tackle the coin shortage.
The task force is looking to release its list of recommendations in August.
