The high production cost for one cent coins meant that the Bank must spend significantly more to mint the coins than they are worth. In addition, because one cent coins are usually thrown away or accumulated in homes, the Bank had to issue large volumes of one cents to maintain an adequate supply in circulation.
The Bank therefore decided to stop issuing the one cent as a cost-saving measure. It is estimated that this will result in savings of BBD1,000,000
In preparation for the withdrawal of the one cent coin, the Bank drafted a set of rounding guidelines for handling cash transactions.
Under these guidelines, the prices of individual items does not need to be altered. At the checkout, however, for cash payments only, the total of all the items to be purchased will be rounded up or down to the nearest .05. Totals ending in .01 or .02 will be rounded down to .00. Similarly, totals ending .06 or .07 will be rounded down to .05. Conversely, totals ending .03 or .04 will be rounded up to .05, and those ending .08 and .09 will be rounded up to .10. The maximum gain or loss for any single transaction is .02.
Non-cash transactions, e.g. those made using debit or credit cards or by cheque, will not be subject to rounding as exact payment can be made.
Yes. The one cent remains legal tender, so consumers can continue to use one cents at businesses that accept them.
If a business continues to accept one cent coins and the customer has exact change, the total does not need to be rounded.
Yes. Read the regulations related the one cent withdrawal and the rounding policy.