“Effective 1 July 2015, the I cent and 2 cent EC coins will be withdrawn from circulation.” This was the first line of a statement issued by Deputy Governor of the Easter Caribbean Central Bank Mr. Trevor O.B Braithwaite.
According to the statement the decision was taken by the Monetary Council of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) in light of the high production cost of these coins compared to their intrinsic value, coupled with the large volumes required to maintain an adequate supply in circulation.
Braithwaite stated that as a result of the factors outlined starting I July 2015 these denominations will no longer be issued to businesses or financial institutions.
The coins will no longer be valid either as consumers will not be able to conduct transactions using these coins. Persons can present the coins at any of the commercial banks which operate within the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) to receive face value.
A price rounding system will be implemented within the ECCU countries for the settlement of cash transactions only, whereby the total payment, inclusive of duties, fees and taxes, will berounded symmetrically to the nearest five cents. Non-cash payments using cheques, debit andcredit cards will not be impacted and therefore will not be rounded.
A Video Conference is scheduled scheduled to be held on Wednesday April 15th at 2pm to provide stakeholder institiuions with critical information relating to the withdrawal
of the coins from circulation and to give an opportunity to have concerns aired and addressed. The video conference will bring together representation from the Ministries of Finance and the Chambers olCommerce within the ECCU.
