The Coronavirus Is Causing A Cash And Coin Shortage In The United States

By Matthew Gault

A lack of circulation is causing stores all over the country to run out of coins and cash

Banks, laundromats, grocery stores, and retail stores across the country are telling customers that, if they’re paying in cash, they need to bring exact change. All over, ATMs are empty. Last week, a small paper sign taped to the door of a Philadelphia Rite Aid warned customers they needed exact change if they paid in cash.

“Dear Customer: Due to a Nationwide shortage of coins and small bills, we would appreciate exact change if possible. We will exchange your change for larger denomination bills,” the sign read.

A worker at the store told Motherboard in a phone call that the store has recently had trouble getting its coin orders filled by the local bank. Usually, the store orders about $800 in coins, but two weeks ago the bank couldn’t fill the order and last week it could only give Rite Aid half. For now, the worker said the store has enough coins and small bills and customers don’t seem to be too concerned.

“I hope it don’t last,” they said. “At first, with everything else going on, a lot of people did stop using cash and were more with credit and debit. So in a way that helped us.”

On the surface, a cash shortage during a pandemic seems counter-intuitive. People are staying home more and spending less. Just because the money isn’t moving around doesn’t mean there should be less of it.

The truth is more complicated, and the federal government is doing its best to say it's on top of the crisis, while local businesses and national chains alike are telling customers to prepare for the worst. Broadly speaking, hard currency, and coins in particular, are a vector for disease and coins offer bacteria and viruses a smoother ride than cash.

Scientists have speculated that the virus that causes COVID-19 can exist on cash, but scientists aren’t sure how dangerous it is. Epidemiologists recommend washing your hands after handling cash or coins just to be safe. In China, banks sterilize and sometimes destroy currency to control the spread of disease.

According to the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, cash is in short supply precisely because it isn’t moving around.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8895e4/covid-19-is-causing-a-national-coin-shortage?