Survey on one and two cent coins How business people and customers think about the small change

Should copper coins disappear from the wallets? The GA asked business people and customers. Most of them can easily do without one and two cent coins

 Should cent coins be abolished? Britta Paschke, co-owner of the Meckenheim toy store, views the move with scepticism.

Should cent coins be abolished? Britta Paschke, co-owner of the Meckenheim toy store, views the move with scepticism.

Foto: Axel Vogel

The EU Commission proposes to withdraw one and two cent coins from circulation. The majority of retailers and customers in the region support the idea. Hardly anyone sees any benefit in the small copper coins, and very few would have a problem rounding prices up or down.

Annoying and unnecessary is the almost unanimous opinion on how to handle the coins. "From a purely economic point of view, the whole thing is completely superfluous," says Thomas Wiskirchen, who sells poultry and game at the Rheinbach market, and makes one wonder how much time he spends each day waiting for his customers to pick out the small change in their wallets. "There are a lot of charges when my boss brings the money into the bank to be counted," says Patrick Bauer, who is at the market for the Thilmann bakery. Yvonne Benzemüller from Hit-Markt is also in favour of the abolition: "These coins make everything very complicated and delay the process", she reports about her experiences at the cash desk.

"It costs energy, material and resources to mint these coins and, what's more, with little effort discarding them would make things much easier for everyone involved," says 27-year-old Florian (27), who does not want to give his last name.

Nadine Poremba from Blumen Spilles in Meckenheim also positions herself clearly. "We are all in favour of abolishing the coins here. Our prices don't have any crooked sums anyway, but the customers bring us the small change." Britta Paschke has another problem. "We are often missing one-cent coins, and I have to go somewhere to change them," explains the co-owner of the Meckenheim book and toy store Pöppelheld. Many publishers have already rounded off the prices, "but many other articles still end up at 99 cents for us". Paschke's customer Ilona Dette can easily do without that: "I wouldn't have a problem with that if it was always rounded up.

Other passers-by in the „Apfelstadt“ are of the same opinion. The Netherlands is often cited as a good example. In the neighbouring country it works perfectly, and the thing with the price just under a round sum is pure psychology, Elke Wolff and Christa Voss are convinced when they shop at the Piel household goods store. Many customers simply leave the small coins on the counter in the shop or throw them into a donation box because their wallets get too fat.

Guido Offermann also thinks so. "The pennies used to be narrower than the cents today," says the pharmacist. That's not the only reason why he advocates abolition. "In our industry, rounding off and rounding up was done 20 years ago. Although the price of medicines in Germany is set by the state, back then it looked like a discount to some people and then it was no longer allowed," he says. Since then, amounts such as 17.83 euros have complicated the pharmacy business.

The eleven-year-old Sarah, for example, has a completely different opinion. Contrary to all rational concerns and considerations, she provides an argument that cannot be dismissed: "Then there won't be any lucky penny left! Angela Szarata likes the EU Commission's proposal to introduce general rounding rules. "It would be a great relief. We would be spared the constant counting of coins," says the 64-year-old employee of Blumenthal Mode in Bornheim. Last year the store had many offers of 99 cents, and that had become quite annoying.

Moritz Dolfen (21) from Alfter is also positive about the abolition of small coins. "I'm too lazy to pay with one and two-cent coins anyway." The wallet is getting heavier and heavier, and the small change at home is filled into a jar. They take it to the bank sometime during the year. No one in his family uses the copper coins.

"Rounding up and down will balance itself out in the end", Susanne Schütterle (50) from Alfter is convinced. She is an entrepreneur and has problems with change. There are always too few coins. However, if one rounded up and down, both parties would come out of it fairly in the end. With the renunciation of the small coins, however, some also fear the beginning of the abolition of all cash. Melissa Culcu (32), owner of a newspaper shop on Königsstraße in Bornheim, says: "I am therefore against the abolition of small coins. The cash just must not be abolished." On the other hand, she would have to pay fees for the copper money if she took it to the bank. So if customers pay for cheaper goods with only the small money, she makes a negative deal. Nevertheless, she believes that the difference from 1.99 Euro to two euros is decisive for customers.

Peter Schelling (60) from Merten sees the proposal in two parts. If the small coins were to be abolished, prices would also have to adjust. "After all, our children should still know what money is worth." However, Wilhelm Wester, Head of Corporate Communications at Volksbank Köln Bonn, cannot imagine that the EU proposal will be accepted at all. Compared to other Europeans, the Germans were too attached to cash. As far as payments are concerned, they are still rather conservative. But his bank has not yet taken a final position on the abolition of one and two-cent coins.

(Original text: Hendrikje Krancke; Translation: Mareike Graepel)

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