RBF To Withdraw 1 & 2 Cent Coins

The Reserve Bank of Fiji will commence withdrawing the 1 and 2 cent coins from October 13th and retailers are now expected to start rounding off their prices to the nearest 5 cents to cater for the changes being brought about.

Deputy Governor Sada Reddy confirmed that as per the cabinet decision earlier this year, smaller and lighter 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins will be introduced and new $1 coins with new metal composition and edge designs are being brought in to replace the current circulation coins.

Reddy said the changes are necessary in order to take advantage of new technologies in minting coins, achieving cost savings due to rising cost of metals and taking into account the public views.

He said implementation of the changes will save the country millions of dollars.

Over the past few weeks, the RBF had been meeting with stakeholders in discussions to ensure critical issues stemming from the cessation are addressed particularly the issue of rounding to the nearest 5 cents.

The Deputy Governor stressed that the marked process should not change and that the rounding will occur at a point of sale and for cash transactions only and that is it important that the public realize that current prizes should not be affected by this change.

The new coins will begin circulation from January 2009.