Cash transactions were already on the decline in 2019 as consumers switched to electronic payments. The pandemic exacerbated this as retailers and consumers turned to online shopping or contact-free card and app transactions.

When people did make the rare cash purchase, they were more likely to keep their change than use it in a subsequent transaction.

The US Coin Task Force, formed specifically to address the issue, reported in May 2021 that much of the nation’s $48.5B in coins were sitting in America’s 128m households.