Germany is considering phasing out small coins, following in the footsteps of several European countries that have already discontinued the copper-plated 1 and 2 cent euro coins.
The Bundesbank has proposed rounding cash payments to the nearest five-cent increment, either up or down, if approved by authorities. Under this system, a payment of 4.99 euros would be rounded up to 5 euros, while a payment of 1.02 euros would be rounded down to 1 euro.
In Germany, cash remains widely used, with more than half of all payments being made in cash. The average German keeps about 100 euros in their wallet, with up to 5 euros in coins. According to the Bundesbank, more than half of Germans would support removing small change. The rationale is clear: small coins offer little purchasing power, take up space in wallets, and often end up forgotten in piggy banks. Additionally, the economic and environmental costs of producing, packaging, and transporting one-cent and two-cent coins exceed their nominal value.
While many countries have tried to eliminate the smallest coins, they have yet to be fully withdrawn from circulation. In Finland, for instance, cash payments are rounded to the nearest five-cent increment, meaning a sum of 14.97 euros would be rounded down to 14.95 euros. Similar systems are also in place in the Netherlands, Slovakia, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, and Estonia. However, no uniform rules exist at the EU level for this practice.
