Switzerland will stop exchanging Ukrainian banknotes for Swiss francs from November 25
Swiss authorities have announced that as of November 25, Ukrainians will no longer be able to exchange Ukrainian banknotes for Swiss francs as such a scheme will be discontinued.
Since the end of June 2022, Ukrainians have been allowed to change their country’s banknotes in selected branches in Switzerland. However, at the request of the National Bank of Ukraine, the Swiss authorities decided to end the agreement. SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“The regulation introduced at the end of June 2022 for the exchange of Ukrainian banknotes into Swiss francs in selected bank branches in Switzerland will be discontinued on November 25, 2022 at the request of the National Bank of Ukraine.” it says in the statement of the Federal Department of Finance.
According to the Swiss Federal Department of Finance, since June 27, 2022, all Ukrainian nationals with protection status S have been able to exchange a limited amount of money into Swiss francs.
This special agreement to exchange a maximum of around CHF 300 was in line with an agreement between the Swiss National Bank and the National Bank of Ukraine.
Explaining the request to halt such an arrangement, the National Bank of Ukraine said that demand for the exchange of Ukrainian banknotes into Swiss francs had decreased significantly in recent weeks.
With regard to cashless payment transactions to and from Ukraine, the Swiss Federal Department of Finance emphasized that this is still guaranteed.
The Swiss Federal Council said that the authorities decided to take such a decision as the situation in Ukraine will not improve in the foreseeable future, stressing that Ukrainians will be granted temporary protection as long as they are at risk.
In addition to extending the directive on temporary protection for nationals of Ukraine, the Swiss authorities have stressed that the support measures for people who have such protection will also be extended for another year.
According to the Federal Council of Switzerland, more than 67,000 Ukrainians have received temporary protection since March 2022. He also pointed out that more than 6,390 Ukrainians had left Switzerland for good by the end of October 2022.
As for the total numbers, the UN refugee agency reports that as of November 15, a total of 7,841,359 Ukrainian refugees have been registered across Europe. Another 4,725,612 Ukrainian refugees have registered for temporary protection in Europe as of November 15.
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