Pennies will no longer be given as change for cash transactions on campus starting Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013.

A penny saved is no longer a penny earned.

Starting Wednesday, it will be a collector’s item on the Brock campus. That’s because people making cash payments for their morning caffeine fixes, lunches or textbooks won’t find any copper in the change they’re given.

The University will no longer be giving pennies as change on any cash transaction. Instead, all cash payments will be rounded up or down to the nearest five-cent increment.

So, if you normally pay $1.01 or $1.02 for that coffee to kick-start your day, for example, you’ll only have to pay $1. If the total on your purchase comes out to $1.03 or $1.05, the charge will be $1.05. Purchases totaling $1.06 or 1.07 will be rounded to $1.05 while those at $1.08 and $1.09 will be bumped up to $1.10.

Payments made with debit or credit cards, including Brock cards, won’t be rounded.

Businesses and charities throughout Canada began the transition to phase out the penny this week after the federal government decided in 2011 that the Royal Canadian Mint would no long issue the one-cent coins.

Despite the penny’s disappearance from campus cash registers, it is still legal tender. That means pennies can still be used to make purchases.