The Pandemic Has Led To A National Coin Shortage Which Means You’re About To Have Laundry

Laundry might be the least of your problems but the national coin shortage is sure to have an impact on you somehow.

Whether it’s happening at fast-food restaurants, supermarkets, or banks, people across the country are finding themselves cut off from the typical change in hand occurrences of the days before the Coronavirus Pandemic.

That’s right, be warned: coins are in short supply.

The lack of coins in the nation’s marketplace is apparently alarming the federal government enough that the Federal Reserve organized a U.S. Coin Task Force.

According to NBC, the task force will work to “mitigate the effects of low coin inventories caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Twenty-two members of the task force were announced last week on Friday and will meet this month in an effort to identify “actionable steps that supply chain participants can take to address the current coin circulation issue.”

According to an article by NBC the national shortage is a situation “born out of the pandemic, during which businesses that deal heavily in coins, such as laundromats, may have closed, while the fear of getting the coronavirus by touching currency may have spurred people to avoid physical monetary transactions altogether.” It is a direct result of state and city lockdowns which saw the operation of nearly 22,000 coin-cashing kiosks nationwide slowed down.

As a result, some businesses are cautioning customers that they won’t be able to give out change.

Others have rounded out prices to exact amounts. This works for now because paper bills are not in short supply. As of yet…

On the other hand, things might not be so bad.

According to CBS Boston, some smaller retailers are opting for some lucrative solutions for their customers. A beer shop in Bend, Oregon called The Growler Guys recently told customers on Facebook that it will pay them $1.05 for every $1 in rolled coins they bring in to the store.