08/12/2020

Coronavirus Tracker: Retail Coalition Urges Government Action on Coin Shortage

August 12, 2020

Current updates on association response to the global COVID-19 crisis, along with a roundup of conference, travel and business news and information.

Letter Asks Government to Launch Coin Campaign
As long as consumers are under lockdown, their coins are under lockdown too—and a group of retail associations is taking action. A coalition of 10 groups signed a joint letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell this week urging the federal government to launch a public campaign aimed at getting consumers to use coins for purchases or otherwise get coins into circulation.

According to the Federal Reserve, Americans can expect a monthly gap of 2.3 billion to 3.5 billion coins for the remainder of 2020. Much of this burden falls on retailers, many of whom have been unable to make correct change.

“The reality is, we cannot mint our way out of this problem,” the letter states. “In fact, the U.S. Mint supplies less than 20 percent of the coins we need, the remaining 83 percent of supply comes from recirculated coins. … We can solve this problem, but it will take every American joining in the effort to empty their coin jars and get coins back into circulation. The retail community is seeking your leadership to help drive this message.”

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.