National Restaurant Association of America
07/14/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/14/2026 13:54
Solving the Penny Problem: National Restaurant Association Applauds House Passage of Federal Rounding Legislation
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July 14, 2026
Solving the Penny Problem: National Restaurant Association Applauds House Passage of Federal Rounding Legislation
Common Cents Act delivers clarity, consistency, and protection for restaurant operators
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Restaurant Association today celebrated House passage of the Common Cents Act, a win for restaurant operators who have been contending with the phase out of the penny.
The legislation would permit rounding for cash transactions and create safe harbor protections for business owners - including restaurant operators. It ultimately simplifies transactions, reduces confusion at the point of sale, and protects operators and small businesses nationwide from liability. The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration, where the Association has been actively engaging lawmakers and urging its swift passage.
"Restaurants need clarity on how to manage the phase out of the penny, and customers deserve consistency when using cash to pay for their meals," said Sean Kennedy, Chief Advocacy Officer at the National Restaurant Association. "This legislation would achieve both, reducing unnecessary friction between restaurants and the guests they serve and injecting a degree of uniformity into the most basic transactions involved in running a restaurant. This is a meaningful win for every restaurant operator and small business owner who has spent months navigating this challenge without a road map."
The last penny was produced in November of 2025. Its abrupt discontinuation and a subsequent hold placed on distribution was particularly chaotic for restaurants - a consumer-facing industry that operates on 3-5% margins and where 1 in 4 transactions is paid in cash. Following extensive advocacy by the Association, the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department took action to relieve some of the stress these changes created for restaurant operators and their customers. The bill passed today reflects direct input from the industry and would create the long-term solution operators have been seeking.
More information about how the Association was asking Congress to address the penny problem is here.
The legislation would permit rounding for cash transactions and create safe harbor protections for business owners - including restaurant operators. It ultimately simplifies transactions, reduces confusion at the point of sale, and protects operators and small businesses nationwide from liability. The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration, where the Association has been actively engaging lawmakers and urging its swift passage.
"Restaurants need clarity on how to manage the phase out of the penny, and customers deserve consistency when using cash to pay for their meals," said Sean Kennedy, Chief Advocacy Officer at the National Restaurant Association. "This legislation would achieve both, reducing unnecessary friction between restaurants and the guests they serve and injecting a degree of uniformity into the most basic transactions involved in running a restaurant. This is a meaningful win for every restaurant operator and small business owner who has spent months navigating this challenge without a road map."
The last penny was produced in November of 2025. Its abrupt discontinuation and a subsequent hold placed on distribution was particularly chaotic for restaurants - a consumer-facing industry that operates on 3-5% margins and where 1 in 4 transactions is paid in cash. Following extensive advocacy by the Association, the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department took action to relieve some of the stress these changes created for restaurant operators and their customers. The bill passed today reflects direct input from the industry and would create the long-term solution operators have been seeking.
More information about how the Association was asking Congress to address the penny problem is here.
About the National Restaurant Association
Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises more than 1 million restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of 15.7 million employees. Together with 52 State Associations, we are a network of professional organizations dedicated to serving every restaurant through advocacy, education, and food safety. We sponsor the industry's largest trade show (National Restaurant Association Show); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF's ProStart). For more information, visit Restaurant.org and find @WeRRestaurants on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Vanessa Sink
[email protected] (202) 331-5900
National Restaurant Association of America published this content on July 14, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 14, 2026 at 19:54 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]