Coin Shortage: Meijer Will No Longer Accept Cash at Self Checkout

Now would be a great time to cash in that jar of change you have on your dresser.

If you plan on using the self-checkout option at Meijer, don't be surprised if you're not allowed to use physical cash - you'll have to use the regular checkout lanes.

Due to a national coin shortage, Meijer stores will not be accepting cash in their self-checkout lanes at this time.

In a statement, Meijer Company spokesperson Frank Guglielmi said:

As a result of the national coin shortage caused by the pandemic, Meijer is temporarily converting the self-scan checkout lanes at most of our supercenters to credit/debit use only (they’ll also still accept Meijer gift cards and SNAP/EBT cards).

Our staffed checkout lanes will continue to accept cash payments.

While we understand this effort may be frustrating to some customers, it’s necessary to manage the impact of the coin shortage on our stores. We appreciate our customers’ understanding and patience. Thanks.

Basically, because a large portion of the economy has taken a hit during the COVID-19 outbreak, there's a coin shortage. And because of this shortage, stores can no longer get the currency they need to make change, so they'll only be accepting credit card or digital payment.

I find this so fascinating because we, like so many other people, have a coin stash in our house. It's a little mason jar that we put all of our spare change in. We take change out as we need it; now I'm starting to wonder how much is really in there?