THE CHANGE YOU get in shops today will be rounded up or down to the nearest 5c as part of plans to reduce the use of 1c and 2c coins.
The Central Bank is rolling out its ’rounding’ policy nationwide after a trial in Wexford found that 85% of consumers and 100% of retailers thought it worked well.
As part of the plan, the change you get for your purchase will be rounded up or down but the prices displayed in shops will remain the same.
For example, if a bill comes to 52c it will be rounded down to 50c while if it’s 58c it will be rounded up to 60c.
The rollout of the plan will be conducted on a voluntary basis for stores with 1c and 2c coins remaining legal tender, so you can still use them.
A customer can also ask to opt-out of the rounding of a transaction and ask for the exact change if they wish.
The Central Bank’s Ronnie O’Toole says he expects people will get used to the system pretty quickly.
“Consumers may be surprised at first but, judging from the experience in Wexford, they will embrace rounding very quickly,” he says.
The rounding will apply to cash transactions only and the move follows similar schemes in five other EU states.
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