19-09-2023
According to the central bank, cash circulation in general is working well in Estonia, but the long-term concern is with the small red coins, which are used for payments less often. People get coins as change in shops, but due to the low value of the coins, people do not take them back to the shops to pay with them. This is why Eesti Pank has to put an average of two truckloads of one- and two-cent coins into circulation every year, and almost none of them find their way back to the central bank,’ said Rait Roosve, Head of the Cash and Infrastructure Department at Eesti Pank.
‘During the coin collection project, Eesti Pank and Omniva wish to collect one million euro coins from people. The pilot project will allow us to test whether a coin collection service like this would aid in the recirculation of small red coins, as their production involves a considerable environmental cost,’ said Roosve.
Kristi Unt, the Estonian Country Manager at Omniva, stressed that every person who brings in coins to be exchanged helps to reduce the environmental footprint of cash. ‘Sustainability is a subject close to Omniva’s heart and therefore, we as members of society must do our utmost to help bring existing coins back into circulation, rather than pay for the production of new ones,’ said Unt.
As part of the coin collection campaign, people can bring their accumulated euro coins to two post offices of Omniva: at the Järve Centre in Tallinn and the Kvartal Centre in Tartu. The service will be offered free of charge until one million coins have been collected, but the free campaign will end on 22 October at the latest. From then on, the exchange fee is 5% of the amount exchanged and coins can be exchanged at the two post offices of Omniva until the end of the year. In addition to small red coins, other euro coins can also be exchanged. Up to 3 kilograms of coins worth up to 200 euros can be exchanged at a time. The amount exchanged is refunded in banknotes and higher-value coins.
Source: Omniva