• When will the new 1, 2, 5 and 10 hryvnia coins be issued into circulation?
  The coins will be issued in stages: the 1 and 2 hryvnia coins were issued on 27 April 2018; the 5 hryvnia coins issued on 20 December 2019; and the 10 hryvnia coins will be issued on the 3 June of 2020.
• Will paper 1, 2, 5 and 10 hryvnia banknotes be withdrawn from circulation?
  No. These banknotes will not be withdrawn from circulation. However, the central bank will stop printing these banknotes and issuing them into circulation.
• When will paper 1, 2, 5 and 10 hryvnia banknotes cease to be legal tender?
  The new coins will circulate along old paper banknotes of the same denominations. Old banknotes will be in circulation until they wear out.
  There is no need to exchange banknotes for coins, as the banknotes will continue to be legal tender. Worn-out and damaged banknotes will be gradually replaced with coins.
• Why did the NBU decide to issue new coins?
  The decision was driven by the development of cashless settlements, the decrease in the purchasing power of the hryvnia that has taken place over the last 20 years, as well as changes in consumer behavior. On average, countries have 12 denominations in circulation.
  Once 1, 2, 5 and 25 kopiikas are withdrawn from circulation and 1, 2, 5 and 10 hryvnia coins are issued into circulation, Ukraine will have:
  - two denominations of low-value coins ? 10 and 50 kopiikas
  - four denominations of circulating coins ? 1, 2, 5 and 10 hryvnias
  - six denominations of banknotes ? 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000 hryvnias (1, 2, 5, 10 banknotes will be gradually replaced with coins).
• Why replace banknotes with coins?
  Taking into account the lifespan of coins, the replacement will save the country about UAH 1 billion.
  Low-denomination banknotes wear out quickly and become unfit for use. Coins have a significantly longer lifespan than banknotes. While coins can circulate for 20 to 25 years, low-denomination banknotes wear out within one to two years.
  The gradual replacement of banknotes with coins should spare consumers any inconveniences. Overall, every year, the NBU withdraws about 800 million worn-out banknotes from circulation, of which over 40% are low-denomination banknotes (from 1 to 10 hryvnias).
• How widespread is the practice of replacing banknotes with coins?
  Hungary, the Czech Republic, Japan, Canada, the UK, Australia, Denmark and other countries have successfully replaced their banknotes with coins. The European Union has 1 and 2 euro coins.
• What is the cost of coin production?
  Information about the costs of coin (and banknote) production is confidential. It is worth noting, however, that taking into account the lifespan of coins, coin manufacture is more cost effective. Replacing banknotes with coins will save the country about UAH 1 billion.
• How many new 10 hryvnia coins will be issued into circulation?
  The NBU will initially issue 5 million units of 10 hryvnia. Also now there are new circulation coins of 1 hryvnia - over 195 million units, 2 hryvnia - almost 190 million, 5 hryvnia - over 7 million. Gradually the number of coins in circulation will increase depending on the needs of the economy.
• Do the new coins have security features?
  Yes. The coins' visual and tactile security features include the special design of their obverse and reverse, the type of edge used, as well as small obverse and reverse elements that are difficult to reproduce using crude methods.
  When processed manually, the color, weight and size of the coins can, to some extent, serve as additional security features.
  Automatic processing with the use of special equipment relies on coin specifications, such as size and weight, as well as their spectral signature, an electronic signal typical of a specific material.
• Has the NBU identified counterfeit coins?
  No counterfeit coins have been identified so far.
• Was the decision to introduce new coins influenced by the counterfeiting of banknotes of the same denominations?
  No. The percentage of counterfeit 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 hryvnia banknotes that were withdrawn from circulation traditionally was no more than about 1% of total identified counterfeit hryvnias banknotes.

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• When do the rounding rules come into effect?
  They come into force on 1 July 2018.
• How exactly will check totals be rounded?
  The rounding will follow a mathematical principle.
  If a check total ends in 1, 2, 3, or 4 kopiikas, it will be rounded down the nearest zero.
  If a check total ends in 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 kopiikas, it will be rounded up to the nearest zero.
• Will the NBU stop producing small change?
  Yes. The central bank will stop manufacturing 1, 2 and 5 kopiika coins, as these coins have lost their purchasing power. It will also no longer produce 25 kopiika coins because, in the absence of 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas, it will be impossible to break 25 kopiikas using only 10 kopiika coins.
• Will Ukrainians still be able to use small change to pay for goods and services?
  Yes. 1, 2, 5 and 25 kopiikas will remain legal tender indefinitely.
• How long can people exchange or surrender their old coins?
  1, 2, 5 and 25 kopiikas will remain legal tender indefinitely. There is no need to exchange them, as they will continued to be used for payment.
• Where can one exchange small change for larger denomination coins or banknotes?
  All coins can be exchanged for banknotes or other (larger denomination) coins at bank branches.
• Will rounding apply to the price of each item in the check?
  Only check totals will be rounded.
• Will check totals still be rounded when consumers can pay the exact amount?
  If a buyer or a seller have the required coins they will be able to use them to make a payment or to give change.
• Will check totals be rounded for cashless payments?
  No. No rounding will be done when one pays with a card.
• Will financial institutions be required to accept kopiikas?
  Kopiikas remain legal tender in Ukraine. All financial institutions are required to accept kopiikas as a means of payment and to credit them to accounts.
• Will companies be able to use kopiikas to give change?
  Yes. If a company has the required coins, it can use them to give change.
• Will companies be required to comply with the rounding rules?
  If a buyer and a seller have no coins of the respective denomination companies will have to round check totals for any cash payments, as set forth by the rounding rules.
• Will a company have to round a total when a customer asks for a refund?
  If a refund is made in cash and the required coins are not available, companies will round the total in accordance with the rounding rules.
• Will companies be required to show check totals before and after rounding? Will companies have to reprogram their cash registers?
  Companies will have to show check totals before and after rounding has been applied, including the rounding rules they applied. Reprogramming of cash registers will cause little additional cost.

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• When the NBU will withdraw 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas from circulation?
  The NBU will commence withdrawal of 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas from circulation on 1 October 2019. These coins will no longer be used for payments, since they will no longer be legal tender.
• How will 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas be withdrawn from circulation?
  From 1 October 2019, all business entities will cease acceptance of 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas for all types of cash transactions.
  IAfterwards, until 18 October 2019, all business entities are committed to hand over all remaining coins of said denominations to bank cash desks to be credited to current accounts.
  Also, from 1 October 2019, the NBU will cease delivery of 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas to banks. In return, banks will no longer dispense such coin denominations to business entities. The NBU will accept from Ukrainian banks these coin denominations for crediting to correspondent accounts.
• What will happen with coins on hand after 1 October 2019?
  The public will be able to exchange 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas without limitations and free of charge for coins and banknotes of all denominations in circulation during the next three years:
  at Ukrainian banks — until 30 September 2020 inclusively
  at the NBU and authorized banks — until 30 September 2022 inclusively.
  Addresses of the NBU in regions and authorized banks (Oschadbank, PrivatBank, and Raiffeisen Bank Aval) are listed on the NBU official web-site https://bit.ly/2V7dIl3, https://bank.gov.ua/control/uk/publish/article?art_id=84001465&cat_id=84305210
• What is the deadline for exchanging or surrendering coins?
  Denominations of 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas should be exchanged during the next three years until the end of September 2022.
  25 kopiika coins will remain in circulation indefinitely. There is no need to exchange them, as they will continue to be used for payment.
• What will the NBU do with the withdrawn coins?
  The NBU will dispose of the withdrawn coins of 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas by defacing the coins using special equipment and melting the metal.
• Why does the NBU withdraw 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas from circulation?
  The NBU’s decision to withdraw 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas from circulation is the next step towards the optimization of cash circulation in Ukraine.
  This decision is based on the following:
  — 1, 2 and 5 kopiika coins have practically ceased to matter to the household settlements for goods and services. Furthermore, cashless settlements have increased and customer behavior has changed
  — production costs exceed the face value of such coins. At the same time, such coins fail to return from circulation to the banking system — the state and other members of cash circulation incur regular expenses on processing, transporting, and storing these coins
  — at present, the hryvnia series has too many denominations (a total of 17 denominations: 8 coin denominations and 9 banknote denominations). International practices show that an average number of currency denominations is 12. In the future, the denomination series of hryvnia should align with global practices.
• Why did the NBU decide to withdraw 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas from circulation?
  The main benefits from withdrawing 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas from circulation are more convenient payments and lower public costs, including:
  — the regulator saving over UAH 90 million per year due to the reduced cost of production and processing of the lowest coin denominations
  — retailers, food service providers, transport companies and banks saving money on transporting, storing, and processing of these coins
  — easier cash payments, and the average number of coins per capita in Ukraine reducing more than by a third (by 29%).
• How many 1 and 2 kopiika coins are in circulation at present?
  Since the monetary reform in 1992, the following denominations were issued into circulation:
  • over 2.4 billions of 1 kopiika coins (UAH 24.4 million), about 3.5 million coins were returned from circulation
  • almost 1.4 billion of 2 kopiika coins (UAH 27.9 million), about 2.8 million coins were returned from circulation
  • almost 1.9 billion of 5 kopiika coins (UAH 95 million), about 26 million coins were returned from circulation.
  By number of coins in circulation, the share of 1 kopiika is 18.5%, 2 kopiikas — 10.6%, 5 kopiikas — 14.2% (10 kopiikas account for the biggest share of 28.9%).
• Does the NBU mint 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas now?
  Since 1 July 2018, the NBU has ceased minting 1, 2, 5 and 25 kopiikas after the introduction of rounding rules. At present, the NBU mints only 10 and 50 kopiika coins and 1 and 2 hryvnia coins.
• How will this effect inflation?
  SWithdrawal of low-denomination coins will not effect prices and therefore this initiative will not lead to higher prices of goods and services. Respectively, this decision will not change inflation indicators.
  Our experience with rounding rules introduced almost a year ago proves it. Since rounding rules apply to the final amount in a receipt and not to prices of separate goods, this decision has not affected inflation.
• Is there a similar international practice for withdrawing coins?
  Yes, withdrawing low-denomination coins from circulation is common in other countries: New Zealand (in 1990 and 2006), Norway (in 1972, 1982, 1992, and 2011), Israel (in 1991 and 2008), Australia (in 1990), Czech Republic (in 2003 and 2008), Hungary (in 2008) etc.
• Will Ukrainians still be able to use small change to pay for goods and services?
  Yes. 10, 25, and 50 kopiika coins will remain in circulation.
• Does the NBU intend to withdraw other coin denominations (10, 25, and 50 kopiikas)?
  The central bank will cease minting 1, 2, and 5 kopiika coins, as these coins have lost their purchasing power. It will also no longer produce 25 kopiika coins because, in the absence of 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas, it will be impossible to break 25 kopiikas using only 10 kopiika coins.
  At present, 1, 2 and 5 kopiika coins are being removed. 10, 25, and 50 kopiika coins will continue to be used for payment (hryvnia, the Ukraine’s monetary unit, will remain the equivalent of 100 kopiikas).
  These denominations will remain in circulation indefinitely. There is no need to exchange them, as they will continue to be used for payment.
  At the same time the NBU will commence a gradual withdrawal of 25 kopiikas. These coins, if received by banks, will not be returned into circulation. In time, their number in circulation will reduce.
  The NBU will monitor closely cash circulation and in the future, as necessary, will adopt decisions on further streamlining coin circulation.
• What if the price is a multiple of 1, 2 and 5 kopiikas?
  In that case, in order to make cash payment easier, as before, rounding rules will apply to the receipt totals paid in cash for goods (works, services) to the nearest 10 kopiikas.
  If it’s a cashless settlement, rounding rules will not apply and the receipt amount will be debited.
• Where can a person exchange small change for high-denomination coins or banknotes?
  All coins can be exchanged for banknotes or other (high-denomination) coins at bank offices or at the NBU.
• What if a store or a bank refuses to accept coins?
  Hryvnia in the form of all banknotes and coins is the domestic currency and the sole legal tender in Ukraine.
  All business entities and banks are obligated to accept them as a means of payment and to credit to accounts.

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