Eliminating the Penny
Feb 4th, 2013 by Shelley Brown
The Royal Canadian Mint ceased distribution of pennies to financial institutions on February 4, 2013. As of this date, businesses are encouraged to stop using pennies and begin rounding cash transactions in a fair and transparent manner.
What does this mean for the consumer?
- Cash payments or transactions will be rounded, either up or down, to the nearest five-cent increment
- Only cash transactions require rounding; this will have no impact on payments made by cheque or electronic transactions
- Pennies can still be used in cash transactions indefinitely with businesses that choose to accept them
- Businesses do not have a legal obligation to accept pennies
- The penny will retain its value indefinitely. As such, there is no time limit for redeeming pennies
- Canadians may redeem their pennies at their financial institution. Financial institutions may require that pennies be properly rolled.
- As financial institutions will no longer be receiving pennies from the Mint, they may not distribute pennies to consumers and businesses after February 4, 2013.
Here are some links you might find of interest:
Department of Finance Canada Eliminating the Penny Web portal