Bukit Timah kopitiam stall refuses to accept five-cent coins? Here's why this is allowed

Stomper Daniel came across a notice at a snack stall in Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre informing customers that five-cent coins will not be accepted.

Curious as to whether this is allowed, he took a photo of the notice and sent it to Stomp.

As it turns out, stall owners are in fact allowed to limit the use of coins for payment, if they meet certain conditions.

Read a statement on the Monetary Authority of Singapore's website:

"Coins issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) are legal tender in Singapore for the payment of goods or services, up to the limits set out in the Currency Act. 

"As specified in the Act, the legal tender limit for coins of denomination below 50-cents is  two dollars. This means that a vendor is obliged to accept any number of coins of denomination below 50-cents for payment up to two dollars. 

"For 50-cent coins, the limit is 10 dollars. There are no limits for  payment by one-dollar coins.

"Under the Act, if a vendor wishes to set a lower limit on the quantity of coins he will accept in a transaction, he must provide a written notice of this to his customers. 

"This may, for example, be by way of displaying a written notice. Otherwise, all denominations of the coins tendered by a customer as payment up to the legal limits must be accepted."