Q&A: Rounding Up Small Change and a Concern of Interest
Rounding Up Small Change and a Concern of Interest
Question
Hi,
I owe a company that serves as an intermediary for a delivery company a certain amount for the service, and they issued me an invoice.
They concluded that I owe them
507.57
NIS.
They rounded the small change by
0.43 NIS
and want me to pay 508 NIS.
Since I’m making a bank transfer to them, I could also pay 507.57 or 507.60.
I’d prefer not to get dragged into unnecessary arguments over a few agorot, and I waive the extra amount in advance.
Is there any concern here about interest, and can I pay the 508 NIS without worry?
Answer
In my opinion there is no concern at all. It was not fixed in advance, so at most this would only be rabbinic interest. This is not a loan but payment for a purchase. There is no payment here for waiting on money at all. This is standard practice in the world. You are doing it for your own benefit (to avoid a headache).
Discussion on Answer
In my opinion, indeed there is no point in arguing.
Thank you to the Rabbi for the quick and sharp answer.
By the way, regarding the reasoning,
“You are doing it for your own benefit, to avoid a headache”
That’s really my general approach, and it can make things easier.
Say a friend bought me a coffee for 14 NIS, and the next day said it cost 15 NIS because he got confused or for some other reason, and I don’t have the energy to argue with him over one shekel.
Could I use the same reasoning there too, to avoid unnecessary arguments?
Because in general that’s my approach in business—not to argue over a few shekels one way or the other; the time spent arguing would cost me more time.