A simpler system for banking small change

SIR – My wife tried to swap a bag of 5p coins for a fiver at our local Natwest branch and was told to pay it into our account (Letters, September 6) because of money-laundering regulations.

Since money-launderers deal in thousands, rather than small change, surely it wouldn’t be rocket science for banks to set an upper limit of, say, £50 on cash-for-cash transactions. Dave Alsop

Churchdown, Gloucestershire

SIR – My local shop is thrilled when I turn up with bags of coins. It swaps them for notes most gladly.

Even now that Dublin retailers are rounding their prices up or down in order to eliminate copper coins, they will still take them. Charlie Ringrose

Dublin, Ireland

SIR – I was also asked to pay coins into our bank account before we could receive paper money over the counter.

Because we didn’t have enough of the bank’s plastic bags for our bronze coins, it occurred to us that those coins would do far more good if we simply gave them to our local hospice shop with our next donation of items. So that is what we did and what we propose to do in future.

Unless readers are really strapped for cash, I suggest this is what they should all do with spare change – assuming they don’t have a whole trunk of it. Margaret Powling

Paignton, Devon

SIR – We have fresh flowers in a vase in the hall every day of the year. As copper coins prolong the flowers’ life we encourage visitors to drop a coin into the vase/wishing well and make a secret wish. Michael Crosby

Colchester, Essex

SIR – Using copper coins, I found that it costs four times the weight of a pint of beer to buy a pint at my local pub.

Does that make me a heavy drinker? Bernard Kerrison

London SW4