Aldi Stores (Ireland) has revealed to The Sunday Times that it has already introduced a "rounding" system across its 191 stores in the country for cash transactions.
The decision makes Aldi the first supermarket to introduce a policy on rounding since it was decided during the summer that the Central Bank was to begin the process of phasing out 1c and 2c coins from October 28th.
A spokesperson for Aldi told the paper; "Following the decision by the Central Bank of Ireland to discontinue minting 1-cent and 2-cent coins, we have been unable to obtain sufficient quantities to meet requirements at our Irish stores. To ensure that our customers do not lose out, we are rounding transactions in favour of them."
Other retailers are still mulling over whether to introduce a similar policy. Aoife Clarke, Head of PR for Lidl said; "We are currently working on some concepts and will communicate fully to customers once we have finalised our plans."
Elsewhere, Lorraine Shiels, interim Head of PR at Tesco Ireland, explained that Tesco "still provide customers with 1c and 2c coins.
"We're currently engaging with the Central Bank to understand the implementation details of the national rounding convention before making a final decision, as the shortage of 1c and 2c coins is an issue for all retailers."
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Niall Swan
