A Wisconsin bank has thought of a creative way to fix the coin shortage problem a lot of businesses are facing because of the coronavirus.
What We Know:
- The Community State Bank is helping local businesses struggling because of the nationwide coin shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The bank launched a Coin Buy Back Program on Wednesday. This program offers a $5 bonus for every $100 worth of coins turned in to any of its seven locations regardless if a person is a bank customer or not. People can receive up to a maximum coin bonus of $500.
- “We knew we needed to figure something out,” Community State Bank Vice President Neil Buchanan said. “We hate the idea of telling our customers, ‘No, we can’t give you one of the services we’re proud to provide,’ so we came up with a creative way to get things done. Just because this hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean it isn’t going to work — and it has already made a huge difference.”
- Days after the program launched, a lot of people dropped off their spare change, making an impact on the businesses that were struggling, according to Buchanan. Those who bring coins will receive their money in cash or as direct deposits and are not being charged for coin counting transactions. Some people even dropped off their coins without asking for anything in return.
- The coin shortage is one of the results of the partial closure of the economy caused by the virus. Some national retailers like Wawa and CVS are asking customers to pay with exact change or are offering programs where customers can donate their change to charity.
“Our businesses have reached out just voicing their appreciation for their local bank coming up with a creative way to help them eliminate a challenge that many businesses across the country are facing,” Buchanan said.
The bank is continuing its program until there is no longer a demand.
