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Time running out for billions of old Swedish kronor

Emma Löfgren
Emma Löfgren - [email protected]
Time running out for billions of old Swedish kronor
Old Swedish money. Photo: Claudio Bresciani/TT

Eleven billion kronor of old Swedish coins and banknotes are still in circulation despite the Riksbank central bank's warning that they need to be handed in by the end of June.

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Sweden's major money changeover, which began in 2015 and has grabbed headlines around the world, has entered its final phase, meaning that old 1-, 2- and 5-kronor coins, as well as 100-kronor and 500-kronor bank notes, will become invalid after June 30th.

But according to the Riksbank's latest estimate, 9.2 billion kronor's worth of old notes and 1.9 billion kronor coins are still hiding in Swedes' wallets, piggy banks and mattresses.

IN PICTURES: Sweden's new bank notes

One of the challenges for anyone hoping to get rid of the old notes is that increasingly fewer Swedish banks handle cash these days, meaning it is not always possible to go to the nearest branch and submit the bills.

"The banks have now increased the number of branches that accept coins and several banks have stopped charging a fee. Consult your bank if you have a lot of banknotes and coins. Shops may find it difficult to manage large volumes of banknotes and coins all at once," said Christina Wejshammar, head of the Riksbank's cash and payment systems department.

"It is also important that banks and cash-in-transit companies can supply shops with new coins and that shops stop giving customers the old, soon-to-be-invalid coins as change."

Sweden's banknote and coin changeover began in 2015, with the old 20-, 50- and 1000-kronor notes having become invalid after June 30th last year.
 
The bills expiring next month can be deposited at a bank until June 30th, 2018, and the coins until August 31st, 2017. Anyone who wants to get rid of their old money after that will still be able to hand them in directly to the Riksbank, which may deposit them for a fee of 100 kronor ($11.45).
 
The Riksbank has a detailed schedule (in English) for the banknote and coin changeover, and a map where you can find your nearest coin-deposit location is available at Myntkartan.se
 

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