From the beginning of the following year, a new currency in Europe that will be the sole legal tender in Germany, France, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Ireland, and Greece shall be introduced.
Skopje, 9 January 2002
Press release of the NBRM
From the beginning of the following year, a new currency in Europe that will be the sole legal tender in Germany, France, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Ireland, and Greece shall be introduced.
The banknotes and coins of the currencies of these 12 countries shall no longer be a legal tender as of 28.02.2002, and they will be withdrawn from the circulation up to that date.
The Euro banknotes can be exchanged in the Republic of Macedonia with the Macedonian commercial banks beginning from January 1, 2002 to February 28, 2002.
The citizens of the Republic of Macedonia that have cash foreign currency of these 12 countries from the Euro area have several solutions on their disposal. All these solutions are not equally favorable and simple from the of expenditures and safety aspects
The citizens will have the following opportunities on their disposal up to 31.12.2002:
First opportunity: To deposit cash foreign currency in commercial banks in the Republic of Macedonia.
In that case, the banknotes withdrawn from the circulation and that are deposited on the pass-book or on the foreign currency account would be converted in Euro automatically, thus avoiding the standing in a queue in the banks or other expenses. That is the easiest, the cheapest and the least risky way to convert your money.
Second opportunity: To convert the cash foreign currency into Denars.
Certainly, you can use Denars to buy Euro banknotes anytime. However, the purchase/sell differential should be also taken into consideration. On the other hand, if the Denars are deposited in banks, these expenditures shall be compensated by the higher interest rates.
Third opportunity: To convert the cash foreign currency of the 12 members of Euro zone in other cash foreign currencies.
You can chose between American Dollar, Swiss Franc, British Pound, Japanese Yen or other less known currencies. In such a transaction, usual expenditures for conversion in banks or exchange offices when converting, and afterwards, when re-converting in Euro banknotes, should also be taken into consideration as well as the possible exchange rate differentials.
After the 01.01.2001:
First opportunity: To exchange the cash foreign currency in commercial banks in the Republic of Macedonia.
Second opportunity: To deposit cash foreign currency in the commercial banks in the Republic of Macedonia, and to take them back as Euro banknotes after a certain period of time.
Conditions and time limits for these two options vary from commercial bank to commercial bank. That is the reason that it would be better to turn to your commercial bank for more precise information regarding the conditions and the time limits. The competition between banks should contribute to a better acceptability of these conditions, especially when the cash foreign currency is deposited in banks in a determined deadline.
Skopje, January 09, 2002