Once pennies are out of circulation, we can expect retailers to round up to the nearest nickel, shortchanging people who pay in cash. Credit and debit cards will still be charged exact amounts …. Bill Maurer, dean of the School of Social Sciences at UC Irvine, tells us the government could step in and offer a public digital payment service for the unbanked. “Something like a public Venmo, right? A Venmo type service that would be free to use, easily accessible, wouldn't require a bank account. You sort of preload it like a prepaid card or like a prepaid phone and then spend that way – that’s one option,” says Maurer.

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