Penny production stopped–here's what that means for us

The U.S. Department of Treasury has stopped the production of the penny. While the penny remains legal tender, the Federal Reserve continues to shut down penny ordering across coin depots; therefore, Capital One cannot always maintain pennies on hand to provide for customers.

The production and distribution of a single penny cost 3.69 cents, nearly four times its face value. This resulted in an $85 million loss for the U.S. Mint in 2024 alone. Refer to the US Mint for details on the end of penny production.

Capital One will continue to provide pennies for cash change while our current supply in locations is available.
 

Pennies are unavailable for Capital One to order from the Federal Reserve, and Capital One will therefore not have pennies on hand to provide to customers once our existing supply runs out.
 

The impact of this will be felt across the country with businesses and banks all experiencing a lack of pennies at different times. One location might have pennies while others do not. 
 

As pennies are still legal tender, Capital One will continue to:

• Accept penny deposits and provide pennies as change while supplies last.

• Conduct electronic transactions in $.01 increments as we’ve always done (e.g. transfers between accounts in $.01 increments).

• Conduct check deposit transactions, without cash back, in $.01 increments.

• Conduct payment transactions, without cash back, in $.01 increments.

If the Capital One branch does not have pennies required for a transaction, there may be a need to adjust some transactions. Any necessary adjustments will be made in the customer's favor.

Capital One is committed to supporting our customers through this transition. We’ll continue to monitor updates from the Federal Reserve and Treasury and share guidance as it becomes available.