1. The cost of metal currencies:
a) It costs [since Dec. 2014] $1.62 to make a dollar's-worth of
nickels, and $1.66 to make a dollar's-worth of pennies. By
contrast, it costs only 36 cents to make a dollar's-worth of
quarters, and 40 cents for a dollar of dimes.
b) ...data on coins taken out of circulation by consumers (coins
sealed, lost, stored or destroyed) is inconclusive--estimated in
the hundreds of millions for the US economy each year.
1
Who uses cash?2
As shown in Figure 8..., consumers of all age groups list cash as
their preferred payment instrument. Contrary to conventional
wisdom, 40 percent of 18 – 24 year olds actually prefer cash, the
highest percentage of any age group.
1
http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/PDFs/2014-rd-biennial-report.pdf
2
http://www.frbsf.org/cash/publications/fed-notes/2014/april/cash-consumer-spending-payment-diary

2. Where is cash used?
In October 2012, the average American consumer had 59
transactions, including purchases and bill payments, and 23 of
these 59 payments involved cash. Figure 2 shows that, at 40
percent, cash makes up the single largest share of consumer
transaction activity, followed by debit cards at 25 percent, and credit
cards at 17 percent.
[Cont.] All income and age groups use cash in roughly equal
frequency, and particularly for transactions valued at less than $10,
making cash the dominant payment instrument for very low-value
transactions. Moreover, consumers use cash especially heavily for

3. certain types of everyday expenditures, like food and personal care
items. 3
Future cash trends
Thus, while debit and credit cards are growing strongly, and cash’s
share of total consumer transactions may well be declining, the
2012 Diary results suggest that cash still plays a very significant
role in the consumer payments landscape. Looking to future
potential changes in cash usage relative to other payment
instruments, the Federal Reserve will continue its work to
understand how the continued growth of debit cards, the expansion
of prepaid cards among the unbanked, and novel P2P solutions
may influence how consumers use cash, and the potential effects
on the Fed’s cash business.
Mobile paymentdemographics:4
Youngerconsumersare more likely to make mobile payments (table 5,
listed below).Of those with a mobilephonein 2014,34 percentof
individualsages 18 to 29 and 31 percentof individuals ages30 to 44
had made mobilepayments.By comparison,only 7 percentof those
ages 60 or over reported makingmobilepayments.This pattern of use
by age has been evidentacross all fouryears of the survey.
3
http://www.frbsf.org/cash/files/FedNotes_Evidence_from_DCPC_Appendix_1.pdf
4
http://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/consumers-and-mobile-financial-services-report-
201503.pdf

4. Proxy data validating consumerwillingnessto ‘give up’ change at
POS (in donations):5
a) RonaldMcDonald House Charities received$27.1 million in2014
in nickels,dimes and quarters collected at over13,000
McDonald’s locations.
b) Consumers are asked upon checkoutif they’d like to round up
their purchase to the nearestdollar increment with the overage
going to a designated charity. JCPenney has raisedtens of
millionsfor a variety of charities using this tactic.
c) 55% of Americans saidthey enjoyeddonatingto charitable causes
at the register.
d) Eighty-sevenpercentof ‘millennials’(generation Y) donated
to not-for-profitsin 2013.6
What are the possibilities with developing an APIthat eliminates
the pain of fractionaldollar amounts?:
1) Cryptocurrency/BitCoinconversion
2) P2P/P2Mwallets/Venmo/PayPal/GWallet/AppWallet/Square
3) Closed-loop loyalty program
4) Donations to charitable organizations
5) Micro-investments into company stock
6) Direct withdrawal to user bank account
5
http://www.causemarketingforum.com/atf/cf/%7B4de6f364-56af-4866-a8d6-
be166d012f35%7D/2015_AMERICASCHARITYCHECKOUTCHAMPS_FINAL_5_26_15.PDF
6
http://cdn.trustedpartner.com/docs/library/AchieveMCON2013/MIR_2014.pdf

5. Concluding remarks:
Metal currencies are a marked inefficiencyin the US economy.
Hundreds of millions are spentby the FederalMint to produce fractional
currency that is 1) becoming more expensive to produce and 2) taken
out of circulation as there are no streamlined, efficientmethods to store
and track said fractional values. The production of coinage is predicated
upon a persistence cash usage. Despite thoughts to the contrary,
‘millennials’ (generation ‘Y’, aged approx. 18-25)are the largest users of
cash (though it still remains a significant payment method for other age
groups as well). Moreover, this same generation is most open to
alternative payment methods,such as mobile payments. Moreover, as
data indicates, hundreds of millions of dollars are raised annually at
various American retailers through simple ‘coin canisters,’ validating,
through proxy, a consumer’s willingness to engage in a behavior where
he or she has a need to ‘rid’ him or herself of change while,
simultaneously, assuming that the fractions of a dollar will ‘go towards a
good cause.’ Millennials are amongstthe mostcharitable of all
generations, but, at the same time, seekinnovative, novel and
technologicalsolutions.