Belgium is joining a parade of countries around the world trying to clear pennies out of our pockets, as small-denomination coins become less and less useful for purchases and more and more expensive to make.
A new law being introduced by the Finance Minister will make it mandatory for shopkeepers to round customers' totals up or down to the nearest five cents. They've been allowed to do that since 2014, but few have gone ahead out of feat customers would object.
Once the new law, supported by both Flemish- and French-speaking merchants, goes into effect, there will be no use for the 1c and 2c coins; proponents expect it will make retail systems easier to operate. Because Belgium's currency is the Euro, the coins will continue to exist. but will drop out of circulation in Belgium.
Among other countries that have canned their small-denomination coins are Canada, Hungary, Israel, Hong Kong, Denmark and Australia. The U.S. has seen repeated calls to follow suit, but none has gotten very far in Congress.
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