Cyprus stocks up for conversion as shipment of euro coins arrives

A shipment of euro coins has arrived from Finland and was transported from Limassol port to Nicosia under heavy police security.
Local press reports said the shipment comprised 12 containers and these contained a total of 1 million euros in cents, part of the 395 million coins that will come into public circulation when Cyprus switches to the common European currency on January 1, 2008.

The first shipment of euro notes has already arrived and further shipments are expected before December 31.

The government is expected to start the euro introduction with 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 euro cent coins worth around 147 million euro, and 79 million euro notes worth 1.7 billion euro.
Some 30,000 special packages will be distributed in advance of the changeover to retailers, each containing 615 euro coins and 172 euro notes.

The Central Bank is also preparing another 200,000 packages in various euro notes and coins worth 10 Cyprus pounds each (EUR 17,09). These will be ready in December. Also by the end of that month, 525 cashpoints island-wide will have been set up to issue 10 and 20 euro notes, while government officials are also examining the possibility of adding 5 euro notes to ATMs.

Cypriot banks are set to have the first coins and bank notes in euro in Autumn.

Central Bank officials had said earlier this year that initially Cyprus will borrow bank notes in euro from the central bank of a Eurosystem member until such time when Cyprus has its own euro bank notes, when the borrowed notes will be returned to the lender.

As far as coins are concerned, these should all be available at the Central Bank in Autumn as these will have three native designs on the reverse side.

The distribution of coins in euro will probably begin in October and bank notes will be allocated a month later. Banks will subsequently supply businesses with the euro, coins and notes.

The Finance Ministry explained that companies must be ready for the conversion by January 1. “There will be a period of one month where we will see dual circulation,” a spokeswoman explained. “However, by law, things such as parking metres and vending machines must be converted to accept euros immediately, as the Cyprus pound will no longer be the legal currency.”

According to the Bank of Cyprus Organisation and Methods Manager Dimitris Loucaides, from 6pm on December 31, the bank’s ATM machines will only be dispensing euros.

“In order to do this, the ATMs will need to be recalibrated with a change to their software. Additionally, the cassettes where currency is loaded into will need to be set to accept a new dimension of notes,” he told the Cyprus Mail in July.

Loucaides explained the gravity of the operation by saying that 10,000 euros in coins weighed 150 kilos, while a total of 1.8 million in coins will be taken to BOC branches. This operation will require special attention, especially in relation to security and insurance issues.