EN ECB -PUBLIC  
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK  
of 4 September  2018  
on new rounding  rules for  payments denominated in euro  
(CON/ 2018/41)  
 
Introduction and legal basis  
On 8 August 2018 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Belgian Ministry of 
Employment, Economy and Consumers  for an opinion on a draft law setting out new rounding rules for 
payments denominated in euro (hereinafter the ‘draft law’).  
The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Article 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European Union and the first and second indents of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 
98/415/EC1, as the draft law relates to currency matters and means of payment. In accordance with the 
first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing 
Council has adopted this opinion.   
 
1. Purpose of the draft law  
1.1 The main purpose of the draft law is to enhance the efficiency of cash payments in Belgium.  
1.2 Under the current legal framework2, retailers may round the total price to be paid by consumers to 
the nearest five euro cent, regardless of whether the relevant payment is made with banknotes, 
coins, electronic money or comparable means of payment. If retailers decide to round amounts to 
be paid, they must do so in a consistent manner and duly inform consumers.  
1.3 The explanatory memorandum  accompanying the draft law mentions a recent survey conducted in 
Belgium  according to which only 30  % of retailers apply the existing optional rule on rounding of 
payments, although 80 % of retailers are in favo ur of such rounding. T he same survey  indicates 
that eight  out of ten consumers have difficulties using coins of one or two euro cent and seven  out 
of ten consumers are in favou r of their abolition through the rounding of cash payments. 
Furthermore, according to the explanatory memorandum , the agence pour la simplification 
administrative / Dienst voor de Administratieve Vereenvoudiging (the office for Administrative 
Simplification ) has estimated that the costs related to the delivery, sorting, counting and transport 
of one and two euro cent coins amount to EUR 44 million. In addition, t he explanatory 
memorandum highlights the high cost  to the administration  générale de la trésor erie/ Algemene 
Administratie van de Thesaurie (general administration for treasury) caused by the issuance of one 
                                                 
1 Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national 
authorities regarding draft legislative provisions ( OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42) . 
2 See Article VI.7/1 , VI.7/2 and VI.7/3  of the “Code de droit économique” / “Wetboek van economisch recht”  (Economic  
Law Code) , as most recently amended by a Law of 15 May 2014.  
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2 and two euro cent coins, for which there is a continuous need due to the limited circulation thereof. 
As a  consequence, the administration générale du trésor / Algemene Administratie van de 
Thesaurie general administration for (t reasury ) had to put approximately  60 million coins in to 
circulation last year . 
1.4 In order to address the limited efficiency of the existing rules  on payments  and alleviate the costs 
caused by the minting and circulation of one and two euro cent coins , the draft law provides that, 
from 1 December  2019, it will be mandatory for retailers to round the total price paid in cash by 
consumers to the nearest five cent multiple.  Total prices  ending with one, two, six or seven cents 
shall be rounded down to the nearest five cent. Total prices  ending with three, four, eight  or nine 
cents shall be rounded up to the nearest five cent. Rounding also applies to the amounts paid back 
in cash by retailers to consumers.  
1.5 Furthermore, t he draft law authorises  retailers on an optional basis to round the total price when 
the payment is carried out with means of payment other than cash.  This option, if used by retailers, 
must be implemented for all other means of payment  and appl ies to the amounts paid back by 
retailers to consumers. Furthermore, retailers must inform consumers about the rounding of all 
payments by openly and clearly displaying on their premises where the payments take place a sign 
stating that the total amount is al ways rounded.  
1.6 When voluntary rounding is widespread, the draft law empowers the King of Belgium to impose by 
royal decree  the mandatory  rounding of payments carried out with other  means of payment , 
including, for example, electronic money or meal vouchers.  
1.7 Rounding of all payments  – whether on a mandatory basis for cash from 1 December 2019 or on 
an optional or mandatory basis for other means of payment  - may only  be implemented if the 
payment takes place in the physical presence of the consumer of the retaile r and if the total 
amounts due exceed five euro cent .  
1.8 According to the explanatory memorandum, the proposed amendments to the rules on payments 
would not affect the legal tender of the one and two euro cent coins, as consumers and enterprises 
would still be authorised to use them.  
 
2. General observations  
2.1 The draft law is not likely to have real impact  on inflation in Belgium, particularly considering that 
total prices and amounts paid back ending with one, two, six or seven cents would be rounded 
down to the nearest five cent, while total prices ending wit h three, four, eight  or nine cents would be 
rounded up to the nearest five cent as equal shares of payments are likely to be rounded upwards 
or downwards (symmetric rounding) .  
2.2 In accordance with Article 128(2) of the Treaty, the competence to adopt measures to harmonise 
the denomination and technical specifications of all euro coins intended for circulation to the extent 
necessary to permit their smooth circulation within the Un ion is vested in the Council  of the 
European Union, on a proposal from the European Commission and after consulting the European 
Parliament and the ECB . The legal tender status of euro cent coins within the euro area is laid 
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3 down in Article 11 of Council R egulation (EC) No  974/983. In addition, Article 2 of Regulation (EC) 
No 974/98 provides that the euro, as the currency of the euro area, is divided into one hundred 
cent. The denomination structure of the euro coins (i.e. 1, 2, 5, 10, 50 euro cents, 1 euro and 2 
euro coins) has remained unchanged since the introduction of the euro4. However, the use of 
different denominations of euro coins, as currently devised, should be periodically and carefully 
examined by the competent institutions against the criteria of cost and public acceptability. In 
particular, the Commission should conduct  an impact assessment on the continued issuance of 
one and two euro cent coins5. 
2.3 The ECB recalls that t he competent authorities have repeatedly expressed their concern as 
regards rounding rules which undermine not only  the legal tender status of one and tw o euro cent 
coins  but also the existence of these denominations . In particular, making rounding mandatory 
would in practice endanger the existence of one and two euro cent denominations . Rounding 
legislation should not prevent the one and two euro cent coins from being used as a means of 
payment as they are de jure legal tender in the entire euro area. Member States’ legislation should 
not lead to divergent treatment of the euro. In its ‘Report on the definition, scope and effects of 
legal tender of  euro banknotes and coins’, the Euro Legal Tender Expert Group (ELTEG)6 advised 
that ‘rounding rules seem to be contradictory to the notion of legal tender of coins [as] tendering the 
exact amount due does not extinguish the debt (except in the Netherlands ), while the very notion of 
legal tender implies the possibility to settle the exact amount owed’. In its Recommendation of 
22 March 2010 on the scope and effects of legal tender of euro banknotes and coins7, the 
Commission recommended that ‘Member States should […] refrain from adopting new rounding 
rules since they affect negatively the power to discharge from a payment obligation by tendering 
the exact amount owed and since it may lead in some circumstances to a surcharge on cash 
payments’8. 
2.4 With a view to preserving the unity and integrity of the single monetary area, the ECB therefore 
recommends that any rounding rules are established in a harmonised manner at Union, rather than 
at national level9. Accordingly, any mandatory rounding rules on euro coins  would appear to call 
exclusively for Union rather than national legislation given that the euro coins are the only legal 
tender coins in the Members States  whose currency is the euro.   
2.5 Notwithstanding this general concern, t he ECB nevertheless welcomes that, as emphasised in the 
preparatory work for the draft law and the consultation letter, the draft law does not alter the legal 
tender status of one and two euro cent coins in Belgium, which shall still be accepted for payments 
if the payer  wants to use one or two euro cent coins. This may be the case for payments amounting 
                                                 
3  Council Regulation (EC) No 974/98 of 3 May 1998 on the introduction of the euro (OJ L 139,  11.5.1998, p. 1).  
4  See paragraph 2.1 of Opinion CON/2014/6. All ECB opinions are published on the ECB’s website at 
www.ecb.europa.eu .  
5  See Recital 7 of Regulation (EU) No 651/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on the 
issuance of euro coins (OJ L 201, 27.7.2012, p. 135).  
6  This report is available at http/ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/articles/euro/documents/elteg_en.pdf . 
7 
 Commission Recommendation of 22 March 2010 on the scope and effects of legal tender of euro banknotes and 
coins ( OJ L 83, 30. 3.2010, p. 70 ). See in particular the ninth recommendation.  
8  See paragraph 6 of Opinion CON/2002/15 and paragraph 2.3 of Opinion CON/2014/6.  
9  See paragraph 2.4 of Opinion CON/2014/6.  
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4 to one, two, three or four euro cent  and (ii) payments of rounded prices, if the customer wants to 
use one and two euro cent coins in this respect.  
2.6 As a m atter of principle, the ECB is not opposed to the voluntary  symmetric rounding of cash 
payments where it may contribute to the reduction of costs for authorities, banks and retailers in 
minting, supplying, sorting and handling these coins. Such concerns are, however, irrelevant for 
cashless payments , in respect of which the need for rounding is hence arguable. In the context of 
equal treatment of cash and cashless payments, the ECB has  a clear preference for voluntary 
rounding for both types of payment.  
2.7 In view of the above,  the ECB encourages  the Belgian l egislator to find alternative methods to 
promote the more widespread implementation of the current optional rules on rounding, for 
example by related communication measures, especially as the survey referred to in the 
preparatory work acknowledges the strong preference of both retailers and consumers for such 
rounding.   
 
This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.  
 
 
Done at Frankfurt am Main, 4 September 2018.  
 
[signed]  
 
The President of the ECB  
Mario DRAGHI