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State Duma deputy suggests considering stopping minting of small coins
Earlier, the Central Bank resumed printing 5-ruble banknotes. Regulators explained this decision by the fact that printing is more profitable than minting coins. Will it disappear from circulation altogether?
Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets Anatoly Aksakov suggested thinking about the feasibility of producing coins, since there is no demand for them. "There is no particular need for change among the current population. I see that many people do not even accept change when it is given to them. Therefore, it is worth considering whether it is worth producing something that people do not need at all," Aksakov said.
Last spring, the Central Bank announced the resumption of printing 5-ruble banknotes. Regulators explained the fact that printing paper banknotes is more profitable than minting coins by coating them with a protective varnish to extend their service life.
In fact, the Central Bank has been making similar decisions for a long time, but this does not mean that the coin should suddenly be cancelled and withdrawn from circulation, says Alexey Vyazovsky, vice president of the investment company Zolotaya Plata:
- This has been going on for a long time and now it is presented in such a way that people do not use small bills. In fact, this is not true. Because now new 10-ruble notes are being printed and smaller denominations are being used. Just minting coins in large quantities is an expensive story, and in terms of metal prices, coins are an alloy of nickel, copper and everything that is used makes the coins themselves more expensive than their face value. This costs money. So the financial logic is clear, the central bank tried to conduct a campaign to collect these coins, and these coin weeks were organized. You bring your coins and exchange them at the bank. Some shopping centers have special machines where you can make change and get money into your account. Obviously, this has become very difficult to tolerate now, and they are testing the waters. As for the population, there is a trend here. Financial services and payments using QR codes are growing, but I still would not suddenly give up my coins. Because we have a big country and in the cities we have learned to use the phone. Pay with a QR code, a fast payment system, but Russia is not limited to cities. In villages, change is actively used.
— What will the future of coins look like in a year or two from a legislative point of view?
— It will not be a reform in the style of "take it, cancel it", but "now we will print small volumes on paper for you. It's cheap." and will be gradually replaced. I don't think there is a problem here. This is a normal desire of central banks to save on minting and the cost of metal.
-Where should I put the coins?
— Coins in mass circulation have no monetary value, do not need to be stored, and banks will accept them. This is not a problem at all. I believe that there is a machine that can toss this coin. There will be no problems with this. You do not need to be afraid that in the end you will be left with small change that no one will accept. - This has been happening for a long time and now it is presented in such a way that people do not use small bills. In fact, this is not true. Because now new 10-ruble notes are being printed and bills of smaller denominations are used. Simply minting coins in large print runs is an expensive story, and in terms of metal prices, coins are an alloy of nickel, copper and everything that is used makes the coins themselves more expensive than their face value. This costs money. Therefore, the financial logic is clear, the central bank tried to conduct a campaign to collect these coins, and these coin weeks were organized. You bring your coins and exchange them at the bank. Some shopping malls have special machines where you can make change and get money into your account. Apparently, it has become very difficult to tolerate now, and they are testing the waters. As for the population, there is a trend here. Financial services and payments using QR codes are growing, but I still would not suddenly give up my coins. Because we have a large country and in the cities we have learned to use the phone. Pay using a QR code, a fast payment system, but Russia is not limited to cities. The village actively uses small volumes. - This will not be a reform of the “take and cancel” style, but a reform of the “now print in small print runs” style. “A piece of paper is cheap,” he said, and will gradually be replaced. I do not think there is a problem here. This is a normal desire of central banks to save on minting coins, metals. This is not a problem at all. I think this device will not go anywhere, so where can I throw this coin? There will be no problems with this. There is no need to be afraid that you will end up with small change that no one will accept.
"The main problem with issuing coins is that production costs can greatly exceed the face value. For example, the production of coins of 5 and 10 rubles can cost 40-50 rubles in terms of the mint's own costs. In fact, its cost decreases and the efficiency of money circulation decreases. At the same time, the refusal to issue coins and the issue of new coins can be associated with two factors. The first factor is, of course, the inflation process. If we assume that food prices in Russia have doubled or even tripled over the past 3-4 years, we naturally no longer notice that some prices are fixed to the ruble or even to the nearest 10 rubles. The peculiarity of coins is that they have decimal parts. Of course, in this regard, the refusal to issue coins can partially mask the problem of intensive price growth. The second reason may be associated with the possibility of some kind of monetary reform. Banknotes are updated. But at the same time, if the inflation process is serious and continues for a long time, then, thinking about the denomination, for example, the role of 100 is equal to 1 ruble, and when issuing new banknotes, the presence of outdated coins, i.e. Of course, abandoning them also hinders the improvement of money circulation and "this can be the first step in preparing for some kind of monetary reform to improve efficiency." "The main problem with issuing coins is that production costs can greatly exceed the denomination. For example, the production of coins with a denomination of 5 and 10 rubles can cost 40-50 rubles in terms of the mint's own costs. In fact, its cost decreases and the efficiency of money circulation decreases. At the same time, abandoning coins and issuing new coins can be associated with two factors. The first factor is, of course, the inflation process. If we assume that food prices in Russia have doubled or even tripled over the past 3-4 years, we naturally no longer notice that some prices are fixed to the nearest ruble or even to 10 rubles. The peculiarity of coins is that they have decimal parts. Of course, in this regard, the refusal to issue coins can partially mask the problem of intensive price growth. The second reason may be related to the possibility of some kind of monetary reform. Banknotes are updated. But at the same time, if the inflation process is serious and lasts for a long time, if we think about the denomination, for example, the role of 100 is equal to 1 ruble, and when issuing new banknotes, the presence of outdated coins Of course, the refusal of their coins also prevents the improvement of money circulation and "this can become the first step in preparing for some kind of monetary reform to improve efficiency."
According to the Central Bank, as of October 1, there were about 73 billion coins in circulation in Russia, and this number has increased by almost 1.5% compared to last year. On average, there are about 500 units of metal currency per capita.