Getting Rid Of The Eurocent

May 23, 2013 in Daily Bulletin

Michael Steen writes that European Commission is considering a proposal to abolish the one Eurocent coin – much to the dismay of specific groups of people:

  • The Eurocent coin costs more to make than it is worth – and people usually just let them accumulate rather than actually spending them which means that more have to be minted every year.
  • However some fear that if the one cent coin is abolished then retailers will round their prices up, making things more expensive.
  • One German children’s charity believes that they would lose hundreds of thousands of Euros a year since the one cent coin makes up a quarter of its cash donations.
  • The Netherlands and Finland have both gotten rid of the one cent coin. Retailers can still set prices at 99 cents and those who pay by cash have to pay a cent more.
  • For the most part though it doesn’t really make a difference since most people just pay by card.

Read more about the problem, and alternate proposals that the European Commission is considering here.

Source: Financial Times

Via: Marginal Revolution