A Wisconsin bank is paying customers a bonus for turning over change as there a national coin shortage.
The Community State Bank is paying out $5 for every $100 in coins turned over to the bank. The coin buyback program is open to those who do not have an account with the bank.
“We are certainly encountering crazy times,” said Assistant Vice President, Retail Operations Director, Katie Stolp. “Our goal from this program is to provide local business owners with the funds and tools they need to run their business. Many other financial institutions charge up to 10% of the value for coin counting. We’re not only waiving that charge, but paying community members to bring us their coin.”
According to the Federal Reserve, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the supply of coins. The pandemic, it says, has caused circulation of coins to drop.
The Federal Reserve said it has implemented a temporary cap on the orders banks place for coins with the Federal Reserve to ensure that the current supply is fairly distributed.
The coin shortage has prompted major retailers to no longer be able to return exact change to customers amid the shortage.
