Some Sudbury businesses are wondering how customers are going to respond to the phasing out of the Canadian penny.

As of Monday, pennies will no longer be distributed to businesses and banks after the coin was scrapped as part of 2012's federal budget.

Convenience store clerk Maxine Charbonneau says customers are unhappy with the prospect prices may rise now that the penny has been pulled from circulation. (Hilary Duff/CBC)

Convenience store clerk Maxine Charbonneau said some customers have already started to ask about the new penny policy.

"So far, we have a lot of people who are kind of unhappy about the price increases that are possibly going to be taking effect,” she said.

Most businesses are rounding up or down to the nearest five cents.

But Charbonneau said she's not sure exactly how prices will change.

"I'm assuming that we're going to be rounding up because prices are already so high and prices are going up as it is anyways,” she said.

Rounding up and rounding down when giving change. (Royal Canadian Mint)

'We're losing'

On the other side of town at Regency Bakery and Deli, staff member Nadia Costanzo said she thinks her customers will likely be happy to rid themselves of the copper coin.

"Customers are either leaving their pennies [or] use it for the next person,” she said.

While customers might not care about pennies, scrapping them could make a difference for small businesses, she added.

"There's a possibility, you know, of smaller stores or even bigger stores having to adjust price changes on their products, like stuff that's already labeled or signing,” Costanzo explained.

“So depending on your store [it] could end up costing you as well, so you're not only losing that one penny."

Banks will continue to accept the penny, but not all businesses will.

"We're losing — I know it's cents — but in the end when you add up the tills at the end of the night, especially grocery stores that go right to the penny,” Costanzo said.