A nationwide coin shortage is affecting the United States and it has stores trying to hang on to spare change.

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Here’s what to know about the nationwide coin shortage.

• Problems caused by the novel coronavirus are behind the coin shortage.
• This was announced last month by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
• He said that the typical flow of coins has been stopped by the partial shutdown of the economy.
• Powell expects the problem to disappear once the economy reopens completely and people start spending again.
• However, until then, it might not be easy to acquire coins.
• That includes some retailers, such as Kroger (NYSE:KR), withholding change from customers.
• Instead, the company is adding that excess change to customers’ loyalty cards for future purchases.

• Some stores, like Wawa, are asking customers to donate their extra change to charities to help get coins back in circulation.
• Other retailers are seeking exact change from customers and some are limiting purchases to debit or credit cards.
• The Federal Reserve is also taking steps to bring more coins into circulation.
• Among these are programs for banks accepting coins so that the Federal Reserve can get them back into circulation.
• At this point, it’s unknown just how long the nationwide coin shortage will last.
• The situation may only get worse as businesses stay closed and a second lockdown could exacerbate the issue.

As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.