The metals used to make 10p and 5p pieces will be changing next year. All slot machines will need to be calibrated for the new coins.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15596596

Boo hoo for local authorities. Perhaps they should have put some of the absolute fortune they make from parking charges aside for unforeseen scenarios such as this.

The vending machine prices are already ridiculous in my work and I wouldn't be surprised to see them go up to 'cover' this. That's when it takes your pound coin of course

Actually the treasury should foot the bill for everyone, not just local authorities, all mass coin counting systems will no longer work correctly as they measure on weight

Yay, no Coinstar will work.........

THe treasury will make a bomb from the copper sales when the old coiuns come out of circulation

Why? You accept it as a risk of doing business, end-of.

It's incredible that we still use coins at all. Talk about a long-lived technology.

Hands up who buys coffee or whatever by phone or by waving their contactless card? Parking meters now costs over £90,00 a day in London so coins are really not convenient.

Srsly? I've never even seen that happen.

I believe most of the world's most famous chain of coffee houses take payment that way. Even my local village Londis does. Look for the little WiFi symbol on your debit card.

Pretty much all parking meters are now "pay by phone". Not just in London, even in Milton Keynes where it's only £4 a day. Obviously NCP and the likes have had credit card machines for over a decade.

Nope, I don't have it. Our meters take coins - the multi-storey only just started to accept card payments, and even that's hit and miss most days.

My debit card is not contactl-ess, otherwise I'd use it wherever I could. I hate - nay detest - carrying coins around, especially for bastard services which specify "correct change only" - I'm looking at you, Cardiff Bus.

There's a Spar near us that doesn't take electronic payment of any kind, never mind vending machines, car parking etc

Coins made sense a thousand years ago.

It seems from these posts that a lot of places haven't realised it's now well into the 21st century...

Coins are a tangible indication of wealth. Especially what you have on you at the time. I don’t see why we need to move from cash at all.

Also, cash - coins and notes are not traceable. No electronic footprint.

Cash still makes sense when power and a phone line aren't available.
I wonder how much more energy we'd need to generate for these terminals to be installed everywhere?
And I'm also going to assume that they and their power supplies are left on pretty much 24hrs a day?