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Penny gets last-minute stay of execution after retailers complain to Finance

Published on July 30, 2012; Published on July 30, 2012

Topics :: Royal Canadian Mint , OTTAWA , Canada

OTTAWA - The penny is getting a last-minute reprieve before being killed off as a circulated currency in Canada.

And it can thank the holidays for its life being extended for a few more months.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has announced that the penny will no longer be circulated as of February 4, 2013.

The Royal Canadian Mint was originally expected to begin taking it out of circulation by this fall. The last penny made came out of the mint in May.

But retailers complained that the transition to a pennyless marketplace would be too much of a burden right before the busy holiday season.

After Feb. 4, cash transactions will have to be rounded to the nearest five cent increment, but electronic transactions will still be calculated down to the individual cent.

Flaherty announced in his March budget that the penny would be phased out, saving taxpayers an estimated $11 million annually.

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