Bill rounding

Since the use of 1 cent coins ended years ago, shops would round down to the nearest 5 cent on their bills. Or so I thought.

It came upon me recently when I was at a supermarket checkout, that if I pay cash, I get to pay a rounded amount which is lesser than if I were to pay with a card (whether debit or credit).

Simply put, if the cash register flashes $9.04, I can pay $9.00 in cash while my receipt will show ‘Rounding adjustments’ to deduct the 4 cents. If I pay by card, there’s no rounding, I will be charged $9.04 flat and the receipt will likewise reflect this figure.

Quickly, I checked with another supermarket and this one declares a rounded figure on the register. Hence no matter which mode of payment is chosen, the same amount is charged. In my case (2nd receipt from the left), $19.30 was the rounded figure I paid with a card.

Did more checks on bookstores, restaurants, shops and not forgetting the other receipts I had on hand, only to confirm fears that they won’t do rounding when we do cards. So for how long have I have been paying extra cents just because!

The few people I talked to just heard it from me…can you believe us?!

[p.s. No rounding on credit card/utility bills when you pay cash at the counters, you would have to pay more or risk late charges on unpaid cents.]