What is wrong with using small change?

Getting change for a piece of candy at the supermarket, getting a few extra onions at the market, small change seems cheap but causes trouble at BOT toll stations... Few people know that money is national sovereignty.

Small change, which must be new money, is on the rise because in recent years the State Bank has not had a policy of printing more, from notes with denominations of 5,000 VND, 2,000 VND and smaller ones like 1,000 VND, 500 VND...

And that limitation means that the supply is no longer available, so small change becomes valuable, especially during Tet and holidays. You have to pay a fee to exchange small change.

Banknotes with denominations of 5,000 VND, smaller denominations of 2,000 VND and 1,000 VND are still commonly used, including the 500 VND note.

The 200 dong notes are rarely seen. Occasionally, in supermarkets, cashiers still use them for change, but usually they ignore them. The 100 dong note seems to have disappeared from the checkout counters, it seems like it is only left somewhere by collectors.

So, the value of these bills is not in their face value but in their rarity due to the policy of limiting the printing of additional small bills.

Partly because of the production cost, printing a small coin is much more expensive than printing large denominations. For example, a few years ago, printing a 500 VND note cost 3-4 times more than the face value.

For example, just not printing new small bills during Tet from 2013-2017 saved the budget 1,500 billion VND, according to the State Bank.

As for coins, it seems that the market has long since unspokenly rejected them, even though there is no document confirming that these coins are no longer a means of payment.

Very few coins are used as a means of payment, some coins are used in festival activities, Tet...

Only when Tet comes, small change proves its role when money changers shout out prices and people need it to spend, from lucky money to the custom of scattering money at temples and shrines...

And now, the return to using small change as a means of payment at BOT toll stations from Cai Lay (Tien Giang), Bien Hoa (Dong Nai), Ben Thuy (Vinh)...

Even though drivers were invited to the police station to "understand their feelings", the war over small change at BOT toll stations shows no sign of stopping.

So what's wrong with using small change?

According to Associate Professor Dr. Vo Tri Hao, to affirm national sovereignty, states not only call for recognition of independence from the international community, but the issuance of national currency is one of the manifestations of national sovereignty, along with the national name and national flag.

Therefore, Vietnam, like many other countries, has sanctions against acts of destroying national currency and refusing to accept payments in national currency within the national territory.

According to Mr. Hao, previously the 1985 Penal Code considered the act of destroying currency a crime, but now the State has a policy of softening this sanction and punishing administrative violations.

"Big money and small money are all national currencies, no one is allowed to refuse to accept small change. Therefore, if people refuse to accept small change, the ones who need to be punished are supermarkets, toll stations, etc., not the payer," said Mr. Hao.

According to this legal expert, paying with small change at BOT toll stations like Cai Lay does cause immediate indirect consequences such as traffic congestion.

"But legally, citizens and businesses are allowed to do anything that is not prohibited by law, and current law does not have any document prohibiting payment in small change," Mr. Hao commented.

According to TTO