The National Bank of Ukraine has announced the withdrawal of 1, 2, 5, and 10 hryvnia banknotes of 2003–2007 samples from cash circulation. Starting from March 2, these banknotes will lose their status as legal tender, and their use in cash transactions will be prohibited. Retail chains, service sector enterprises, banks, and financial institutions will no longer accept these banknotes for payments.
This is reported by Finway
Procedure for Exchanging Withdrawn Banknotes
At the same time, the National Bank emphasizes that citizens have the opportunity to exchange the withdrawn banknotes for circulating coins and current banknotes. The exchange procedure is carried out without any limits on the amount and without any fees:
- At all bank branches in Ukraine — within one year from the date of withdrawal, that is, until February 26, 2027, inclusive.
- At authorized banks (JSC “Oschadbank”, JSC CB “PrivatBank”, JSC “Raiffeisen Bank”, JSC “PUMB”) — within three years, until February 28, 2029, inclusive.
- At the National Bank of Ukraine — currently without a time limit.
“From this date, these banknotes will cease to be means of payment and will be withdrawn from cash circulation. They cannot be used for cash transactions, and all retail chains, service sector enterprises, banks, and financial institutions will not accept them for payments for goods, services, and payment operations.”
Reasons for Withdrawal and Advantages of Coins
The National Bank explained that the banknotes of the specified denominations have virtually disappeared from retail circulation and are rarely used for transactions. Moreover, most of them are in a worn condition. In place of paper hryvnias, coins of the corresponding denominations have been in circulation for a long time, which have a significantly longer lifespan — about 20–25 years. This contributes to increasing the efficiency of cash circulation and reducing costs for updating currency notes.