Rounding mechanism on One Sen coins from today
KOTA KINABALU:
Effective today, April 1, all over-the-counter payments will be subjected to the rounding mechanism vis a vis the One Sen coins. The total amount of a bill which ends in 1, 2, 6 and 7 sen will be rounded down while 3, 4, 8 and 9 will be rounded up to the nearest multiple of five sen. Those who prefer not to use the one sen coins to pay for their purchases can exchange them at the Bank Negara building here from 9.3Oam to 3pm. Bank Negara Malaysia Kota Kinabalu Branch Manager Ahmad Abd Rahim said although the one sen coins are still legal tender, for the convenience of the public who do not want to carry them around, they can exchange the coins into other denominations. “Those who want to get rid of their one sen coins can come to our office here during the specified hours to exchange them,” he said. Ahmad was commenting on queries from the public as to what will happen to the one sen coins in their possession and what they can do about them in terms of convenient payment transactions once the rounding mechanism is fully implemented. According to the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs, the rounding mechanism only applies to the total amount of a bill and not on individual items. According to the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, the implementation of the rounding mechanism brings benefits to both businesses and customers as businesses would be able to save on handling costs and for customers, it would make payments faster and more convenient. Ahmad, when asked for the reason of the introduction of the rounding mechanism, said: “I have no comment because it is under the authority of the Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Ministry.” He added that the public can obtain more details or information about the mechanism by calling the Ministry’s hotline number 1- 800-88-6800 and 1300-88-5465. Ahmad further said that those with damaged or torn Ringgit notes can also exchange them at the Bank Negara counters for new ones.
