Can You Ask for Small Change as Change?

Can You Demand Cents in Change?

The issue of demanding cents in change is a common concern for shoppers who receive back “rounded” change after making purchases.
When answering this question, it is essential to distinguish between payment methods (cash or electronic) and also based on the amount of change due.

First and foremost, it’s important to remember that 1 and 2 cent coins have not been minted since January 1, 2018.
These coins have not been withdrawn from circulation, they still hold their legal value, and will continue to circulate until they are exhausted.
However, the fact that these coin denominations are no longer minted has resulted in prices being rounded up or down.
Let’s see what happens to our change when we go shopping.

1 and 2 Cent Coins: Why the Decision?

The halt in the minting of 1 and 2 cent coins was an economic decision: producing them cost more than their nominal value.
There are no official data on the minting cost of these two coins because the costs vary by European country.
On average, minting a 1 cent coin cost more than four cents, while minting a 2 cent coin cost more than five cents.
Hence, the decision to stop minting these two coins was economically driven.
Although these euro denominations remain in circulation, the number of pieces in circulation is gradually decreasing.

Consequences of the Minting Halt

As mentioned earlier, the halt in minting led to rounding prices up or down to the nearest 5 cents: 1 and 2 cents were rounded down to zero; 3 and 4 cents were rounded to 5; 6 and 7 cents were rounded to 5; 8 and 9 cents were rounded to 10.
It’s important to note that rounding applies not to individual products but to the total amount to be paid.

For instance, if your receipt shows a total of 47.56 euros, the cashier would round it down to 47.55 euros.
Similarly, if the total is 32.43 euros, the change given would be based on 32.45 euros.

Getting the Right Change

Many retailers, to avoid customer disputes over incorrect change, have opted to round each individual product price to the nearest 5 cents.
However, this approach results in a larger loss compared to rounding at the final price.
For example, buying ten products priced at 1.99 euros each would total 19.90 euros without rounding.
If each item were rounded up to 2 euros, the total would be 20 euros, resulting in a loss of 10 cents.

There are two ways to receive the correct change: paying with traceable payment methods, which avoids rounding as there’s no need for physical change, or paying with the exact cents to prevent rounding.

Usage of 1 and 2 Cent Coins

Consumers may still use 1 and 2 cent coins for payments, and every commercial establishment is obliged to accept them.
Since the halt in minting, businesses are allowed not to give back these denominations as change.
Nonetheless, they are obligated to accept them as a form of payment, along with other coins, up to a maximum of 50 pieces per transaction.