SINGAPORE: A customer asked online whether five-cent coins are still accepted after a bakery cashier refused to accept her coins when she handed them in as payment.
“I don’t want to complain, I am just curious, may I ask if the 5 cents is still considered money today? I just went to bakery to buy bread and I spent a total of $10.60, I gave 2 5 cents, the cashier said we don’t accept 5 cents, I am curious, has the 5 cents lost its value?
Omg I only gave 2 5 cents and I got bad attitude from the cashier. It is not like I gave 212 5 cents,” wrote Facebook user Happy Ooi Delaoama on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE page on Sunday (May 7).
“I am a mountain turtle so I don’t know if still have value or not. if I have a lot of 5 cents at home, do I need to pay extra if I put them in the bank or do I need to exchange first? Or does anyone not want 5 cent, can give me?” she added jokingly.
Ms Happy also posted a photo of the two coins the bakery cashier rejected.
Netizens commenting on the post reassured her that many establishments still accept the coins.
And, as this is not a new problem, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has clarified repeatedly that the five-cent coin is still a legal tender that can be used in purchases.
However, according to the Currency Act, a shop may exercise the right not to accept a certain coin as payment, but they must put up a sign to inform customers.
“The written notice serves to allow vendors to highlight the proposed terms of payment to the customer and help inform the customer’s decision on whether to go ahead with a transaction.
This aims to strike a balance between providing flexibility to vendors to set the terms of transactions, including the terms of payment, while ensuring that customers are aware of these terms and can decide if they are agreeable before proceeding with the transaction,” MAS wrote.
Shops are sometimes reluctant to accept five-cent coins because of the service fee that banks charge for depositing coins, which is often around $0.015 for each coin.
However, in 2019, tender limits were simplified under the Currency Amendment Bill, which says that each buyer may use only up to 20 coins per coin denomination (5-cent, 10-cent, 20-cent, 50-cent and $1), meaning that if a shop accepts a transaction in coins, it only pays a $1.50 service fee.
/TISG
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