Dear Sir,

I refer to "Phase out 5-cent coin?" (ST Forum, 12 October 2004).

2   Under the Currency Act, retailers must accept payment in any denomination within the legal tender limits.  For 5-cent coins, the legal tender limit is $2.  If retailers do not wish to accept a particular denomination of currency notes or coins, they should display notices prominently at their premises. This is stated in the Currency Act. 

3   Ms Toh may want to provide MAS with details of the retailers concerned to enable us to advise them on the various legal limits for coin denominations under the Currency Act. We will look into Ms Toh's suggestion to assess the need for five-cent coins in our next review of currency operations.

Yours sincerely,

Angelina Fernandez
Director (Communications)