Isle of Man considers ending use of 1p, 2p and 5p coins

The government said the "demand for cash, and low value denominations in particular, has declined"

Small change could become a thing of the past on the Isle of Man after the government opened a consultation on the use of 1p, 2p and 5p coins.

The government said inflation had caused the "purchasing power" of the coins to "diminish over time, leading to a fall in use".

It said an island-wide rounding system, which would see cash bills rounded up or down to the nearest 10p.

Treasury Minister Alex Allinson said a change "must be carefully considered".

He said the presence of coinage "within our culture has been embedded over many centuries".

"Any change to the way society uses cash must be carefully considered."

'Minting costs'

He said there was a "need to properly examine how and why the use of coins has declined and what we should do to remove those deemed no longer useful".

"While decisions are yet to be made, it is important to note the experience of many countries which have successfully navigated this process, including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada and our neighbours in the Republic of Ireland," he said.

The government said that if coins were removed from circulation, the Treasury would propose introducing compulsory rounding for all cash transactions, which would only affect the total cost, not individual items making up a bill.

It added that card payments would not be affected.

A government representative said the "demand for cash, and low value denominations in particular, has declined".

"No Manx 1p and 2p coins have been minted since 2016, the primary reason being that minting costs more than their face value," they added.

The seven-week consultation runs until 28 June.