Legal Tender - the limits

[Mike C]

Here’s a scenario for you - you win a huge court case, and your very vengeful opponent turns up at your doorstep with a convoy of coin-filled trucks. Must you accept the payment?

Scenario 2: You’re a landlord. Your tenant, angry with you for some reason, decides to punish you by marching into your office with next month’s rental in 5 cent pieces. What are your rights?

Now you’re a shopkeeper whose customer wants to pay for his groceries with R500 worth of R1 coins – can you refuse to accept them?

Or perhaps you are a disaffected motorist issued with an unfair (you think) traffic fine. Revenge being sweet, you decide to inconvenience the municipal teller by paying the fine with the most complicated mix of different coins you can think of. Must the teller spend the next hour counting coins?


Legal tender – the limits

The answer to all these questions lies with the South African Reserve Bank’s policy on what or what is not “legal tender”. If it is, you must accept it. With banknotes, any amount may be tendered, but with coins the following limits apply for each individual transaction-

In R1, R2 or R5 coins: R50.

In 10c, 20c or 50c coins: R5.

In 5c coins or less (no longer being minted, but still legal tender): 50c.

You can report transgressors (reports of shops refusing to accept 5c coins have been circulating since minting of them stopped in 2012) to the Reserve Bank at 086 112 7272.

(Taken from Dotnews www.dotnews.co.za - reprinted with permission)

[IanF]

The really malicious deposit R50 cash in your bank account and you get charged the minimum fee of R43.00.