The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has embarked on a project to withdraw from circulation the 1 cent and 2 cent coins.
The Eccb in the 3rd in a series of sensitization discussions on Tuesday, April 21 engaged local Media Practitioners with a view to guarantee their role in bringing about the transition.
They participated at the Montserrat agency office via a regional video conference from the ECcb headquarters with others from The OECS region.
The decision to phase out the 1 cent and 2 cent coins was made by the Monetary Council at its 81st meeting in February this year.
Deputy Governor Trevor OB Brathwaite of the ECCB says apart from the media the bank has been working closely with key stakeholders both internally and externally to ensure the public is adequately informed.
“Internal discussions with the relevant departments as well as …for this initiative, we have also been working with minters Royal Canadian Mint, they mint all our coins and when we first brought that initiative to their attention they were sold on the idea and they are a key participant in this arrangement to the extent that they are going to be assisting us in printing posters and other public information stuff as well as they have already identified a buyer for us for when we redeem the 1 cent and 2 cent….so we want to say thank you to the Royal Canadian Mint for coming to the table and having that discussion, they have been very cooperative.
While I have the Royal Canadian Mint in mind coming on October you should be seeing a colored $1.00 coin actually we are going to be looking forward to that.
So this is the first ever in this region, so the ECCB is really pushing the envelope including in drawing the 1 cent and 2 cent coins.”
Meantime Director of the Currency Management Department at the ECCB Pamela Osborne explains how the phasing out will affect the public.
“The phasing out of the coins, the 1 and 2 cents, the coins will still have their value ok so persons will be able to use these coins to transact purchases after the implementation date which is the 1st July, 2015.
1st July, 2015 the implementation takes place. It is at that point when we will have to change. Persons will not receive the coins from Commercial Banks or Retailers, so that when persons go to the commercial banks to conduct their business or into a business place in normal circumstances they would be given 1 and 2 cent coins to make up their change following the 1st July, this practice will be discontinued.
Commercial banks and business will not give 1 and 2 cent coins as change after the 1st July, however persons will be able to exchange their, we are only phasing out the coins, persons can use their coins go to their commercial banks get place value for them or they can go to a retail outlet and use them to transact whatever business they may have to transact.
If one has to go to purchase any item and will be required to receive change they will not get change in 1 and 2 cents what will happen the amount that is to be given back as change will be rounded up or down to the nearest 5 cent increment, so then for example items or change that will end with 1, 2, 6, or 7 cent will be rounded down, so then change over $1.00, will become a $1.00, 1.02 will be rounded down to $1.00 also, in the same way change ending with 6 and 7 cent will be rounded down but in those two instances they will be rounded down to 5 cent, so then the $1.02 coin will be rounded down to 0 cent and the 6 and 7 will be rounded down to 5 cent, on the contrary the rounding up will take place if the cost of an item ends with 3 cents or 4 cents and change is to be given back to the public, the $1.03 will be rounded up to $1.05, items costing $1.04 will also be rounded up to $1.05 and if they end with 8 and 9 cent they will be also rounded up to $1.10, so then you see that we are using increments of 5 for the rounding.
