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Today's the day you'll start saying goodbye to those tiny copper coins

They’re going to be rounded up and down to the nearest 5c.

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.

rounding Central Bank Central Bank

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.

PastedImage-63750 Central Bank Central Bank

Read: Shops will start rounding off your change next week >

Read: Goodbye: 1c and 2c coins are being scrapped >

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54 Comments
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    Mute Ryan Hardy
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    Oct 28th 2015, 6:45 AM

    You won’t want to be behind me at a self service machine with my bag of one’s and twos this week

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    Mute Stop #TTIP
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    Oct 28th 2015, 8:42 AM

    @Ryan, I’ve done it before, it took over half an hour to get the change in and it also jammed up the self service till.

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    Mute Dot Com
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    Oct 28th 2015, 10:26 AM

    This is a stealth price increase. More Noonanomics

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    Mute Joe Arthur
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    Oct 28th 2015, 10:57 AM

    @ Dot Com, rounding works two ways don’t you know

    @ Ryan, don’t worry, your 1c and 2c coins will continue to be accepted as payment indefinitely. They’ll just slowly fall out of circulation.

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    Mute Rory Dempsey
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    Oct 28th 2015, 6:00 PM

    I ran a big bar and restaurant in New Zealand, where they round to nearest 10c. After a busy Saturday night, the usual rounding total (which the till system would tell me) would be something like + or – 13c. That’s literally thousands of transactions in cash, and the variance would be what you’d drop on the ground and not bother stooping to pick up. Get away with your stealth, it works both ways!

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    Mute Cannijuana Seeds
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    Oct 28th 2015, 6:24 AM

    I think it’s a good idea but I wonder if the charities that have their boxes on the shops will suffer from the change. And surely if something like a Mars bar was 98 cent today, over time either the shop or the wholesaler I’d going to increase the price by a couple of cent to round the price up.

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    Mute Stefan Epure
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:46 AM

    send us down some white widow or snowbud lad fr the change :)

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    Mute Trevor (with a T)
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    Oct 28th 2015, 8:26 AM

    If people are worried about charities not getting as many donations, there’s nothing wrong with taking a €1 or €2 coin out of their pocket and dropping it in the box. That should cover a good few missed 1c and 2c opportunities!

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    Mute JohnAbbs
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:08 AM

    As a child I can remember a “decimal day” in the early 70′s when the whole country got ripped off.

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    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
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    Oct 28th 2015, 6:31 AM

    Two soups, a latte and a cake for €14, that’s a steal. Where are these bankers lunching?

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    Mute leon James.
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:48 AM

    I think it was a misprint. Two sups of Latte sounds about right for that price.

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    Mute Stephen Duggan
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    Oct 28th 2015, 6:48 AM

    1,2, …………….eh 5

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    Mute Valentino R
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    Oct 28th 2015, 8:04 AM

    This article makes absolutely no cents to me.

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    Mute Sternn
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:24 AM

    So basically retailers can mark everything as €9.97 and charge us €10.00 even. All sweets will be €0.23 cents, which children will pay €0.30, and the €0.99 cent menu at various chippers is now €1. They could even call it the €0.97 cent menu and still charge us a full euro legally now. Since retailers set the prices of course they love this system, they can make sure everything always rounds up while appearing to be cheaper.

    It’s basically the same scam the criminals used in Superman III when they rounded off all financial transactions from the banks in the computers and kept the money rounded off for themselves.

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    Mute John S
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:28 AM

    Did you read the article? Rounding only applies at the final total, not individual items…..

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    Mute Scarce 9 Jutro
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:31 AM

    Plus feel free to ask for your exact change.

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    Mute Bridget O'Hanlon
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:32 AM

    John obviously he didn’t. And 23 cents is not round up to 30 you muppet. It’s rounded to 25. And 22 cents is rounded down to 20. Been like this in Oz for years and the sky hasn’t fallen in – yet

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    Mute Darren Norris
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:42 AM

    Pay with card to be debited the exact fare if you think you will have to round up

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    Mute Declan Doyle
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    Oct 28th 2015, 8:08 AM

    Except Darren you’re charged 20 cent most likely for your card transaction…..:(

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    Mute Derek Walsh
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    Oct 28th 2015, 8:58 AM

    There’s always one! This is a sensible policy with no downside for anyone. It won’t lead to price increases because there’s no point. Unfortunately though, there will always be a handful of idiots who just can’t get it. And I know I’ll end up behind them in a queue as they’re whining about 2 cents.

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    Mute Darren Norris
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    Oct 28th 2015, 10:21 AM

    Who do you bank with Derek. Change asap

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    Mute Rob O'Farrell
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:19 AM

    Finally!!! those 1&2s are the most annoying thing. Even the charity organisations don’t want them..

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    Mute The Irish Gripe
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    Oct 28th 2015, 9:13 AM

    This is brilliant news!!! Have you ever stood in a queue waiting while a woman searches her handbag for 2 cents?? With the infamous words, ‘I know it’s in here somewhere ‘!!

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    Mute Chris D
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    Oct 28th 2015, 12:07 PM

    I know what you mean, but thumbed it down because that actually might be the last 2c she had to do her for the week.

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    Mute Jimmy Murphy
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    Oct 28th 2015, 10:36 AM

    I was buying a lotto ticket the other day in a Dunnes Stores, stuck behind 2 elderly-ish women, the first who payed for her ticket entirely in coppers as best I can tell. When that transaction – eventually – was completed, the second went & to my horror, did exactly the same thing. I knew because she spilt an absolute shitload of coppers out of her purse/bag & needed to pick them all up. I vocally went ‘oh for f….k’s sake!’ and stormed out. I was accused of being very rude but I didn’t apologise in the circumstances. I won’t miss coppers at all.

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    Mute Fred west
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    Oct 28th 2015, 11:28 AM

    You didn’t go far enough with those feckin grannies Jimmy.

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    Mute Maggie
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:41 AM

    Finally

    30
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    Mute Paul K
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    Oct 28th 2015, 10:09 AM

    Shite. I used put these in a jar and buy bin tags with them.

    28
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    Mute KwaK
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    Oct 28th 2015, 6:01 PM

    The change to remove 2 snd 1′s is voluntary, you can still insist that the shop gives you the correct change.

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    Mute KwaK
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    Oct 28th 2015, 6:03 PM

    That should of been “the push to remove …”

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    Mute Derek mc keever
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:31 AM

    @stern they wont be paying 30c they be paying 25c have a read of it again I know its early so your forgiven

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    Mute casey
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    Oct 28th 2015, 9:05 AM

    So does this mean that me 99 icecream won’t be a 99cent icecream anymore? :(

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    Mute Roisin Byrne
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    Oct 28th 2015, 9:09 AM

    When was the last time you bought a 99? I don’t ever remember them costing 99p or 99c

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    Mute Joe Arthur
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    Oct 28th 2015, 12:29 PM

    Just buy 5 at a go. Problem solved!

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    Mute Ken Doyle
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    Oct 28th 2015, 8:26 AM

    We are getting screwed yet again.

    23
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    Mute Fozz
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    Oct 28th 2015, 11:23 AM

    Maybe, but it has nothing to do with this rounding operation which is fair to everybody even if those with lower IQ don’t understand it.

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    Mute Christopher Gardiner
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    Oct 28th 2015, 12:31 PM

    Lets be honest. We all know the hungry commercial sector will round up not down. Its Ireland. Its what we do best, screw our own.

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    Mute Lazlo Saint Pierre
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    Oct 28th 2015, 1:32 PM

    Yes, exactly, I will be asking for exact change and not supporting this. This may work ok in Oz or elsewhere but this is Ireland, and its Rip Off Ireland Mark II. Its just duping the masses to save the Central Bank E2.5m a year.

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    Mute Micheal S. O' Ceilleachair
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    Oct 28th 2015, 6:35 AM

    We were always a “well rounded” nation!!

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    Mute sam 987123
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:35 AM

    How does this work if you’re paying for your utility bill in say the post office by cash ? Am I to have my bill rounded because they don’t give out 1 and 2 cents now?

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    Mute Andrea Rock Massey
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:48 AM

    It will be rounded but sometimes it will be in your favour.

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    Mute sam 987123
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    Oct 28th 2015, 9:02 AM

    interesting, thank you

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    Mute Joe Arthur
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    Oct 28th 2015, 12:29 PM

    You’re also entitled to ask for the exact change if you feel hard done by the rounding.

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    Mute Lazare HOche
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    Oct 28th 2015, 1:14 PM

    Rounded down..?! Ha, don’t make me laugh!

    12
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    Mute Sternn
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    Oct 28th 2015, 7:31 AM

    For about €250 you can get a tracking device which you can mount inside the frame and track your bike via GPS over the Internet. Not for cheap bikes but well worth it if you invest in an expensive one.

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    Mute Mark Godfrey
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    Oct 28th 2015, 9:01 AM

    Would you get change?

    35
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    Mute Paul Connolly
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    Oct 28th 2015, 12:55 PM

    Somehow I suspect the consumer will be ‘fleeced’ once again

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    Mute Gus Sheridan
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    Oct 28th 2015, 8:38 AM

    On yer bike Sternn

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    Mute Mairéad Cahill
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    Oct 28th 2015, 3:26 PM

    Will “penny sweets” still be 2cent or will they be 5 cent now

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    Mute Piotrek Król
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    Oct 28th 2015, 10:56 AM

    So will the bank exchange the tank of 1 and 2c coins I have at home then, or how do I get rid of them?

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    Mute Fozz
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    Oct 28th 2015, 11:46 AM

    Yes indeed..they are still legal tender.

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    Mute Dan Smith
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    Oct 28th 2015, 10:29 AM

    Good thing Lawrence Vigouroux doesn’t play in the LOI. How would he pay fines?

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Oct 29th 2015, 12:54 AM

    Who remembers the Euro coming in and they said the same thing as this… And everything went up in price.
    I suppose it is another way to show a jump in GDP figures before the election and before Christmas as inflation isn’t taken away from GDP figures???

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    Mute Adrian
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    Oct 28th 2015, 6:32 PM

    Seeing as participation is voluntary, expect businesses to participate when prices need to be rounded up and not to be participating when prices need to be rounded down.

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