You would never pay your mortgage payment by searching your couch for loose coins and paying in pennies. But, how many of us have searched our pockets and coin jars for nickels, dimes – and maybe even some loonies and toonies! – when you really need a bag of milk or something at the grocery store? Many of us have, but how many of us have been turned away, with heavy pockets, because we weren’t carrying “legal tender?” That’s just what happened to a woman in Portland earlier this week, and it’s raised some interesting questions.
The Portland woman walked into a grocery store, picked up a few things, and then tried to pay with $32 in change. She was turned away at not only that store, but at another store as well before the store manager from the first store apologized and accepted her money. But, why was this ever an issue in the first place? And, would the same thing happen in Canada? Whatever happened to retailers needing to accept any and all forms of currency? Is that just a myth?
Turns out, it is! Canada’s Currency Act is the document that clearly outlines what is considered legal tender and what isn’t. Coins and paper money are not considered to be legal tender if they are “bent, mutilated or defaced, or that has been reduced in weight other than by abrasion through ordinary use.” The Act also states that merchants don’t need to accept certain denominations of coins, should the number of those coins exceed a specific amount, and that amount is different for each coin.
Here is a quick breakdown of Canadian coins, and the maximum amount you’re allowed to pay before they’re no longer considered legal tender.
- No more than $40 in toonies
- No more than $25 in loonies
- No more than $10 in dimes
- No more than $5 in nickels
- No more than $0.25 in pennies
Is it fair to make people stand behind you in line while the cashier counts the change? Should people be forced to pay the fee on coin machines (that’s generally around 10%), or force immobile people to go out of their way to a bank to change their coin? What do you think about the Currency Act’s limitations on Canadian currency, and the amount you’re allowed to use at one time to make payment?
