Bipartisan legislation establishes clear rules for rounding to the nearest five cents, delivering much-needed stability and predictability for franchise small business owners and consumers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The International Franchise Association (IFA) today applauded congressional passage of the bipartisan Common Cents Act, legislation that establishes a national standard for rounding cash transactions to the nearest five cents. The bill now heads to President Trump for his signature.

“It’s nice to see common sense prevail in Washington,” said Michael Layman, IFA Chief Advocacy Officer. “The Senate’s passage of the Common Cents Act, following its passage in the House, is a practical step forward for franchise small business owners and their customers. The decision to stop minting the penny was understandable, but without a clear national standard, cash-based businesses have faced unnecessary uncertainty and a patchwork of state-by-state rules.

“We give a special thank you to the bipartisan group of lawmakers who championed this effort and helped get it across the finish line: Reps. Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Robert Garcia (D-CA), and Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). Their leadership will provide much-needed certainty for locally owned businesses nationwide.”

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About the International Franchise Association:

Celebrating over 60 years of excellence, education, and advocacy, the International Franchise Association (IFA) is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations, and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 832,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 8.8 million direct jobs, $907.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy, and almost 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees, and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology, and business development.