The long awaited end of the penny's life is now here.
The Canadian Mint will stop circulating pennies as of today, Feb. 4
Islanders who pay cash for goods and services should be aware of the transition, says Finance Minister Wes Sheridan.
“The federal government is encouraging businesses to round their cash transactions,” says Sheridan.
“We decided to adopt the federal guidelines, which is consistent with what we’re hearing from the other provinces.”
As a result, cash payments for a product or service at any Government of Prince Edward Island office will be rounded up, or down, according to the guidelines.
The federal guidelines are as follows:
• Amounts ending in 1 cent and 2 cents are rounded down to the nearest 10 cents;
• Amounts ending in 3 cents and 4 cents are rounded up to the nearest 5 cents;
• Amounts ending in 6 cents and 7 cents are rounded down to the nearest 5 cents;
• Amounts ending in 8 cents and 9 cents are rounded up t o the nearest 10 cents.
The rounding only applies to cash payments.
The Department of Finance is estimating phasing out the penny will save taxpayers about $11-million per year.
Amounts ending in 1 cent and 2 cents are rounded down to the nearest 10 cents;