It’s Only Five Cents, but It’s Yours

When did it become acceptable for a retailer to keep a customer’s change simply because the amount is only a few cents? The writer says this has happened increasingly while shopping in Trinidad and Tobago.

If a bill comes to $19.95 and a customer hands over $20, the expected change is five cents. The withdrawal of the one-cent coin does not give retailers permission to round every amount upward, the article says. The Central Bank’s 2018 regulations establish specific rules for cash payments.

Amounts ending in 1 or 2 cents should be rounded down to the nearest 10 cents. Amounts ending in 3 or 4 cents should be rounded up to 5 cents, while amounts ending in 6 or 7 cents should be rounded down to 5 cents. Amounts ending in 8 or 9 cents should be rounded up to 10 cents. Totals ending in 0 or 5 cents remain unchanged.

The rules also require individual prices, fees, taxes and duties to be calculated exactly before the total bill is rounded. A final cash total of $19.97 should therefore become $19.95, while $19.98 should become $20. A total of $19.95 remains $19.95.

The writer says five cents becomes significant across thousands of transactions. More importantly, the issue concerns fairness, transparency and consumer rights. The Consumer Affairs Division and Central Bank are urged to remind retailers and consumers of the regulations and ensure they are applied consistently. “Five cents may be small, but it is still the customer’s money!”

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Five cents may be small, but it is still the customer’s money!