Spare change rules
By spending spare change when you can or building up a decent amount to hand over to your bank, you can make the most of the money you would not normally use.
Did you know?
There are rules on how much spare change you can use in one transaction under the Coinage Act 1971. This prevents people paying for goods entirely in pennies, that would take hours to count.
Shops can refuse to accept your payment if the rules below are not followed:
You can only pay for up to 20p worth of goods with 1p or 2p coins
You can only pay for up to £5 worth of goods with 5ps or 10ps
You can only pay for up to £10 worth of goods with 20ps or 50ps
£1 and £2 coins can be used for any amount
So what are the most economical and hassle free ways of getting rid of your hoard of coins?
Take it to your bank
Using your bank's coin machine
Some banks now have coin machines that let you pay in your spare change without needing to sort it first.
Not all banks offer these machines, and even those that do might not have one in your local branch. However, they should be able to take your coins if you sort them yourself.
At the counter
Taking your spare change to the bank to be sorted and applied to your current or savings account balance is one of the most cost-efficient ways to cash in your pennies.
Warning:
Your bank teller will not look kindly on you if you bring in bags of unsorted change and in many branches they will not be able to sort it for you.
Just ask for money bags at the counter, sort the change at home yourself and put the coins in their corresponding bags. In each bag, you will have to collect:
£1 in coppers
£5 in 5p or 10p coins
£10 in 20p or 50p coins
£20 in £1 or £2 coins
Take these into the bank and the teller will be able to weigh them to check you have the right number of coins, then credit them to your account.
This is the most cost-effective method because it means every penny goes straight to your account. However, it does require patience to build up the required amount of change and sort it correctly yourself.
Bear in mind that some banks will limit the number of bags of coins you are allowed to take in per day, or may refuse to take them altogether at busy times. It is also worth noting that most banks only take change from their own customers.
Use a Coinstar machine
Important:
Coinstar machines are the latest way to cash in your change, but make sure you are happy to pay a fee for a machine to sort your coins for you.
You can find Coinstar machines in most supermarkets, and they work by automatically sorting your change and converting it either into a voucher for cash that you can exchange at the customer services counter, or a voucher for money off your shopping.
However, the sting in the tail is the cost of convenience. Coinstar machines charge a fee of 9.9%. That means for every £1 you feed in, 9.9p will be taken off.
This may be a price you are happy to pay for the ease of having your coins sorted automatically but it is something to consider before you cash in your change.
Visit the Coinstar website to find your nearest machine.
Keep a penny jar
Solution
If you want to be extra-organised, designate different penny jars for different kinds of change, so that when it comes to sorting it into money bags and taking it to the bank, half the work is already done.
Rather than letting spare change wander freely around your house, in trouser pockets, at the bottom of your handbag, and so on it really is worth collecting it in a penny jar.
Also it is a good idea every now and then, to drop a £1 or £2 coin into your penny jar to boost the balance.
However, it is worth noting that money kept in penny jars for years can in fact begin losing value, if it does not keep up with inflation.
Therefore, you should remember to cash it in regularly so that you earn interest on your cash and get a little extra back.
Spend it when you can
Another way you can put your change to good use is to spend it on small transactions. This is particularly applicable to 5ps and 10ps - although they will often get lost at the bottom of your wallet, it is worth using them to pay for purchases when you can.
However, the Coinage Act limits how many small coins you can use in a transaction, although shops are able to choose to accept larger volumes of coins if they want to.
Use a self-service checkout
Self-service machines in supermarkets often do not have a limit on the number of coins you can use per transaction. They can also usually sort them faster than cashier would (and with less tutting!).
It is easiest to use a few at a time rather than buying your weekly shop with pennies, and preferably not when there is a large queue behind you!
Give your coins to charity
Instead of putting smaller coins in your wallet at a checkout, you could give your spare change to charity instead. Many checkouts have charity tins, or you could save the coins for a specific charity you wish to support.
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