The central bank says it has no plans to halt circulation of the 1 N-T coin
despite production costs now exceeding its face value.

The statement comes amid a global trend to phase out low-denomination coins -
with the U-S Treasury announcing last month it will stop minting the one-cent
coin early next year.

According to the central bank, international inflation and rising material
costs have led many countries to reconsider small-denomination coins.

The bank is acknowledging that Taiwan faces a similar situation, but is
stressing that it won't stop circulation of the 1 N-T coin due to continued
public demand.

However, the bank is also urging the pubic to ensure the recirculation of
unused coins - as the coin now costs roughly 1.54 N-T to produce.

Data shows that as of February this year over 8 billion 1 N-T coins were in
circulation.

The bank launched a coin recirculation program in 2014 to allow people to
deposit coins at convenience stores, supermarket chains, and through
electronic wallets, while major metro systems and some A-T-Ms also support
coin deposits.