Most of us gain a little extra pocket money by exchanging loose coins for cash. But if you have enough spare change, it could help you pay your rent or even fund a vacation.
If you know where to go, it is still possible to exchange loose change for banknotes without incurring any fees. Here’s how to get started with turning your spare change into a genuine paycheck.
Visit Your Financial Institution
Most supermarkets with coin-sorting machines charge a fee for the service. For instance, CoinStar’s processing fee is presently 11.9% of whatever you convert or $11.90 for $100 in change.
Most banks only accept coinage from customers with bank accounts or levy a fee to non-customers. Wells Fargo will convert non-members’ spare change into cash for free, up to a specified limit.
A coin-rolling machine, such as a battery-operated coin sorter from Royal Sovereign ($26.99 at Walmart), makes the process of rolling coins much more efficient. Using a Coinstar at a supermarket would cost you $220 in fees if you own $220 in loose change.
Find A Coinstar Machine
Although there are other coin-sorting machines, Coinstar is by far the most prevalent, with over 60,000 kiosks throughout North America, Western Europe, and Japan that process over $2.7 billion in coins annually.
The outstanding amount is subsequently printed on a receipt, which can be exchanged for cash at the customer service desk. In most cases, the maximum amount of foreign currency that can be exchanged per visit is $500.
The advantage of using Coinstar is not having to count or arrange your change. A surcharge of 11.9% and a transaction fee of 25 cents are taken from the total amount.
Go To Nearest Publix
Publix, located in Florida, operates over 1,200 stores in the Southeastern United States. While Publix does not have Coinstar machines, each shop has its own coin sorter near the entrance.
There is a 10% fee, although this is still less than the cost at Coinstar.
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Loose Coins
Another, more humanitarian motivation to pay in your coins is as follows: Even though there is currently a sufficient supply of coins in the economy, the Federal Reserve reports that circulation is still lower than it was before the outbreak.
Not only did company closures result in fewer coins being exchanged, but many consumers were accustomed to internet shopping and contactless payments via credit cards, Apple Pay, and Venmo.
The pandemic has presented major hurdles to the US currency supply chain, according to the US Coin Task Group. The shortage is most likely to affect older and lower-income Americans who prefer to pay with cash instead of credit cards or mobile payment apps.
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