The currency swap concluded by the National Bank of Ukraine with the National Bank of Poland and the right granted to Ukrainian banks to buy hryvnia in cash from foreign financial institutions for non-cash currency in the amount of up to EUR1 million per day (in equivalent) made it possible to launch such an exchange without major losses in Poland and 5 other countries, the NBU said.
“On March 25, the agreement that we concluded with the National Bank of Poland on the exchange of Ukrainian hryvnia for Polish zlotys by Ukrainian citizens in Poland began to work,” the National Bank of Ukraine noted on Facebook.
He clarified that in Poland, which accounted for over 2/3 of all refugees, Ukrainians can apply to separate branches of PKO Bank Polski. The limit for such an exchange is up to 10 thousand UAH in cash per person in banknotes with a face value of 100 to 1000 UAH. To exchange, you need to have a passport in the form of an ID-card or a valid international passport.
In Hungary, cash hryvnia is exchanged by OTP Bank: in its branches, Ukrainian citizens can exchange hryvnia for Hungarian forints within the limit of UAH 15,000. for one transaction.
In addition, the bank offers to open a forint account for Ukrainians aged 18 years and over (from 14 to 18 years of age, the presence of parents or legal guardians is required) in special branches of OTP Bank in Hungary that provide this service, if they have a valid passport or travel document.
In Moldova, to support citizens of Ukraine, OTP Bank will carry out foreign exchange transactions with Ukrainian currency in its branches located in the border regions of Moldova and some branches in Chisinau, on the basis of an internal or international passport of Ukraine. The hryvnia exchange limit is up to UAH 3,000 per client per day.
In Romania, the exchange of Ukrainian hryvnia for Romanian lei is carried out by Banca Comercială Română: 11 branches of this bank near the border with Ukraine are additionally supported by cash to help Ukrainians crossing the border of this country. Citizens of Ukraine can exchange hryvnias for up to 1,000 Romanian lei per person (at the official rate of almost UAH 6.5 thousand) with a valid passport.
In Slovakia, Tatra banka, a subsidiary of the Raiffeisen group, offers to exchange hryvnia for euros. The daily limit per person is EUR250. When exchanging money, citizens of Ukraine must provide a valid passport.
So far, the exchange takes place in Bratislava at the head office of the bank in the Tatracentrum shopping center, and additional exchange points should soon appear in Humenny and Michalovci. In addition, Ukrainians will be able to open an account at Tatra banka branches, to which cash hryvnia will be credited to a payment card in accordance with the euro exchange rate.
In Austria, you can exchange cash hryvnia for euros at Raiffeisen bank and Erste Bank Oesterreich branches if you have a passport. at Raiffeisen bank one person can exchange up to EUR500 per day, and at Erste Bank Oesterreich up to EUR300.
“At the same time, we continue to recommend to everyone who intends to evacuate abroad not to take cash hryvnia with them, but to deposit it into their bank accounts in Ukraine. After all, having a payment card, you can pay without cash and withdraw money from ATMs abroad,” – the National Bank noted and reminded that it did not introduce any restrictions on non-cash payments both within the country and abroad.
