Dreaming of a Penniless Canada

OTTAWA, February 15, 2011 -- The federal government should stop minting pennies effective immediately, according to a brief delivered Tuesday to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty by Credit Cards Canada (CCC). The brief is in support of a report tabled in December by the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance.

In its brief, CCC highlights the high cost and low value of the penny as two reasons to stop minting it, as well as the low popularity of the one-cent coin. " Credit Cards Canada urges the Government to include these measures in the upcoming federal budget, thereby cutting up to $10 million from the federal budget - one of the very few budget cuts that will make Canadians cheer."

In addition to the high cost/value ratio of minting the penny, the brief highlights the burdens that the penny creates for both small retailers and consumers. Businesses have to allocate resources to handling, counting and accounting for pennies that could better be deployed on more productive ventures. Consumers simply find pennies a nuisance.

With an increase in online shopping and most purchases at retail outlets being paid for by credit card or debit card, pennies are involved in a decreasing number of purchases; they will not be missed.

The CCC brief also supports the Senate Committee's recommendation to implement the "Swedish Rounding" method of bypassing pennies at the checkout counter, a system functioning smoothly in Sweden, Australia and New Zealand.

David Boyd, Founder of http://www.creditcardcompare.com.au in Australia, says, "Today, the penny phase out is remembered as a minor issue as people use larger value coins, debit cards and credit cards for transactions."

Credit Cards Canada is a for-profit enterprise offering credit card choices at http://www.creditcardscanada.ca and education at http://www.creditcardscanada.ca/blog/ to Canadians.

RELATED:

Full copy of the brief: http://www.creditcardscanada.ca/news/2011-02-15-penny-brief
Senate Committee report: http://www.parl.gc.ca/40/3/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/fina-e/rep-e/rep08dec10-e.pdf

Credit Cards Canada is a for-profit enterprise offering credit card choices at http://www.creditcardscanada.ca and education at http://www.creditcardscanada.ca/blog/ to Canadians.

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This release was published on openPR.