Siauliu Bankas has started converting Ukrainian hryvnias into euros, the first commercial bank to offer the service in Lithuania. However, only Ukrainians will be allowed to use the service to exchange up to 10,000 hryvnias.
Converting the Ukrainian currency into euros became possible after Lithuania’s central bank signed agreements with its Ukrainian counterpart and Siauliu Bankas installed the necessary software, the bank said.
Under the agreement between the central banks of Lithuania and Ukraine, up to 1 billion hryvnias (27.02 million euros) can be exchanged into euros, and the banknotes will be delivered to the Bank of Lithuania once a week.
The currency will be exchanged at the rate set by the Central Bank of Ukraine. The maximum exchange amount per person is 10,000 hryvnias (270.2 euros), and Siauliu Bankas will add a surcharge of 2.5 euros.
Only Ukrainian citizens with refugee status will be able to use the currency exchange services, the bank says.
Hryvnia can be exchanged into euro at the bank’s branches in five Lithuanian towns: Vilnius (Naujamiestis branch), Kaunas (Kalnieciai branch), Klaipeda (Klaipeda branch), Siauliai (Siauliai branch) and Telsiai. (LRT/Business World Magazine)