Refugees from Ukraine can exchange their national currency for euros at banks and savings banks in Germany from this Tuesday (May 24).
According to information on Monday, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Deutsche Bundesbank signed an agreement with the Ukrainian National Bank for an initial exchange volume of 1.5 billion hryvnia.
Every adult refugee from Ukraine can therefore exchange up to 10,000 hryvnia at the bank where his account is held in Germany.
The equivalent in euros - currently a good 300 euros - is then credited to this account, as a spokeswoman for the German Banking Industry (DK) explained.
The exchange rate published on the Bundesbank's website is decisive.
The exchange can also be made in several partial amounts and should be free of charge.
Banknotes of 100, 200, 500 and 1000 hryvnia of the currently valid banknote series of the National Bank of Ukraine are accepted.
According to DK information, this service is offered by savings banks, Volksbanken and Deutsche Bank.
"Together with the federal government and the Bundesbank, we are enabling the purchase of hryvnia banknotes.
This is a step in the right direction," said Christian Ossig, general manager of the BdB banking association, in a press release.
“We see it as our social responsibility to support the participation of refugees from Ukraine to the best of our ability.
After the possibility of opening an account, we are taking another pragmatic approach with the hryvnia exchange.”
The exchange will be recorded in an online application provided by the European Central Bank to ensure that the individual maximum exchange amount is not exceeded.
The identity of every adult refugee who wants to participate in the exchange is recorded and checked.
The documents that are also accepted for opening a basic bank account by refugees from the Ukrainian war zone are accepted.
The requirements of data protection are observed.
The exchange is initially possible for three months.