Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang said here on Wednesday
that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government
has no plan to legislate prohibiting or penalizing the refusal to
accept legal tender as payment.
He told lawmakers that it is more flexible to allow both parties
to a transaction to determine the method of payment on their own,
and it will encourage the development of more diversified means of
payment.
Whether to accept notes and coins of any denomination as payment
is purely a commercial decision for goods or service providers, he
said.
The Legal Tender Notes Issue and the Coinage Ordinances do not
confer any authority upon the HKSAR government to force goods or
service providers to accept any notes and coins.
Most countries, including Britain, Canada, Australia, the United
States and Singapore, have laws on legal tender to establish the
legal status of their currencies. However, they do not have
legislation to compel their residents or goods or service providers
to accept the legal tender as payment or to punish those who refuse
to accept it.
"We believe that the current arrangement of allowing both
parties to a transaction to determine the payment method will
encourage the development of other means of payment, such as
electronic money," he said.
"On the contrary, legislation to prohibit goods or service
providers from refusing to accept legal tender notes and coins
might hinder the development of technology and more effective
electronic means of payment. It will also cause inconvenience to
the goods or service providers as they may commit an offense by not
having enough change to give a customer who uses a
large-denomination note," he added.
(Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2007)