Whether you've recently unearthed a mine of coppers from the back of your sofa, or have been saving loose change for years, cashing it in can give your wallet a welcome boost. Find out the best way to switch your pennies for pounds.
It’s estimated that on average every household has at least £50 sitting around in change – whether that’s in pockets, penny jars, or down the back of your sofa. As such it’s worth cashing it in, either to add to your savings or to top up your current account balance. But what are the most economical and hassle free ways of doing this?
Take it to your bank
Taking your spare change to the bank to be sorted and applied to your current or savings account balance is one of the most cost-efficient ways to cash in your pennies. However your bank teller will not look kindly on you if you bring in bags of unsorted change and in many branches they will not be able to sort it for you.
Instead, ask for money bags at the counter and sort the change at home yourself. You’ll have to collect at least £1 in coppers and £5 in silver, and put them in their corresponding bags. Take these into the bank and the teller will be able to weigh them to check you have the right number of coins, then credit them to your account.
This is the most cost-effective method because it means every penny goes straight to your account. However it does require patience to build up the required amount of change and sort it correctly yourself.
Bear in mind that some banks will limit the number of bags of coins you’re allowed to take in per day, or may refuse to them altogether at busy times. Also it’s worth noting that most banks only take change from their own customers.
Use a Coinstar machine
Coinstar machines are the latest way to cash in your change, if you’re happy to pay a fee for a machine to sort your coins for you.
You’ll find them in most supermarkets, and they work by automatically sorting your change and converting it either into a voucher for cash which you can exchange at the customer services counter, or a voucher for money off your shopping.
However the sting in the tail is the cost of convenience – Coinstar machines charge a fee of 7.9%. That means for every £1 you feed in, 7.9p will be taken off and you'll have to part with quite a significant amount of your spare change. This may be a price you’re happy to pay for the ease of having your coins sorted automatically but it's something to consider before you cash in your change.
Some banks have begun installing coin-sorting machines without the fee, and though they are few and far between it’s worth looking out for them.
Keep a penny jar
Rather than letting spare change wander freely around your house (in trouser pockets, at the bottom of your handbag, and so on) it really is worth collecting it in a penny jar. If you want to be extra-organised, designate different penny jars for different kinds of change, so that when it comes to sorting it into money bags and taking it to the bank, half the work is already done. Also it’s a good idea every now and then to drop a £1 or £2 coin into your penny jar to boost the balance.
However it is worth noting that money kept in penny jars for years can in fact begin losing value, if it doesn’t keep up with inflation. Therefore you should remember to cash it in regularly so that you earn interest on your cash and get a little extra back.
Spend it when you can
Another way you can put your change to good use is to spend it on small transactions. This is particularly applicable to 5ps and 10ps – though they’ll often get lost at the bottom of your wallet, it’s worth using them to pay for purchases when you can.
However, it’s worth noting that there are rules on how much spare change you can use in one transaction, to prevent people paying for goods entirely in pennies which would take hours to count:
- You can only pay for 20p worth of goods with pennies or tuppences
- You can only pay for £5 worth of goods with 5ps or 10ps
- You can only pay for £10 worth of goods with 20ps or 50ps
- £1 and £2 coins can be used for any level of transaction.
As such, by spending spare change when you can or building up a decent amount to hand over to your bank, you can make the most of the money you wouldn’t normally use.
