Nationwide coin shortage hits Fargo-Moorhead

The cause of the shortage: less coins in circulation due to COVID-19 related closures according to the Federal Reserve.

FARGO, ND – You may have noticed signs at your favorite fast food restaurants asking for exact change or a credit card, that’s because there is a coin shortage nationwide.

The cause of the shortage: less coins in circulation due to COVID-19 related closures according to the Federal Reserve.

One manager at a fast food restaurant we talked to said that they have to actually pay extra to get the coins they need to operate, something they can’t do right now.

COVID-19 has also resulted in less coins being produced at the U.S. Mint due to protections put in place to keep Mint employees safe.

In a statement to KVRR, Gate City Bank told us that “There was a period of time where banks were essentially unable to order more coins. However, there really hasn’t been an impact to Gate City Bank’s customers.”

Gate City Bank expects coin ordering operations to be back to normal by next week according to recent communications they’ve had with the Federal Reserve.

We talked to several local businesses, like Zandbroz and Hornbacher’s, who said that the coin shortage isn’t affecting them either.

Hornbacher’s said that while they were carefully monitoring the situation, they don’t foresee having to ask people to pay in exact change or with card only.

Other businesses, like Insomniac Cookies, aren’t accepting cash due to COVID-19 safety concerns, not the coin shortage.

So what can you do if you don’t have exact change?

Round it up!

Many fast food restaurants will allow you the option to round up your order if you donate that money to charities they sponsor.

It’s the perfect way to help people in need and pay with exact change.

If you’ve got some spare quarters, nickles or dimes lying around the house, bring them along the next time you go out, that way you can help put more coins back in circulation.

You can also take those spare coins into banks or CoinStar machines, where they will turn your cold hard change to crisp green cash for a minor fee.

And if nothing else is available, most establishments accept credit and debit cards.