• The pilot programme for exchanging coins in the Tallinn Järve and Tartu Kvartali post offices will last until the end of the year
• The campaign to collect coins will have no service fee until a million coins have been collected, and in any case until no later than 22 October
• The aim of the campaign is to return more small copper euro coins into circulation to reduce production of them and so reduce the environmental footprint of cash
• Coins collected in the campaign can be exchanged for euro notes and coins of higher value, euro coins of all denominations can be brought in, and up to 3 kg of coins at a time can be exchanged

Eesti Pank and Omniva are together launching a campaign in the Tallinn Järve and Tartu Kvartali post offices to collect a million coins by letting people exchange the euro coins that they have accumulated. Coins can be exchanged as part of the campaign until a million coins have been collected. The coin exchange campaign with no service fee will end on 22 October at the latest, after which coins can be exchanged until the end of the year for a service fee of 5%.

“The central bank assesses that cash circulation in general works very well in Estonia, but small copper coins that are used very little for payments are a major long-term concern. People receive those coins as change in shops, but as their value is so small they do not later reuse them for making purchases in shops. Eesti Pank consequently has to issue an average of two truckloads of one and two-cent coins into circulation each year, and they never make their way back to the central bank”, said Rait Roosve, Head of the Cash and Infrastructure Department at Eesti Pank.

“Eesti Pank is working with Omniva on this campaign and we hope to get back a million coins from people. This pilot project lets us test whether this coin collecting service will help to get small copper coins back into circulation, as there are significant environmental impacts from producing them”, he added.

Estonia manager at Omniva Kristi Unt emphasised that everybody who exchanges their coins will be helping to reduce the environmental footprint of cash. “At Omniva we are very concerned about sustainability and as a responsible member of society we want to help bring existing coins back into circulation instead of paying for more and more to be produced”, she said.

The public can bring their coins to two Omniva post offices as part of the campaign, one at the Järve shopping centre in Tallinn, and the other at the Kvartali centre in Tartu. The coin collection service will be free until a million coins have been received but in any case until no later than 22 October. After that there will be a service fee of 5% of the value of the coins being exchanged, and the coins can be exchanged in the two Omniva post offices until the end of the year. Other euro coins can be exchanged as well as the small copper coins, and up to three kilograms of coins can be exchanged at one time. People bringing the coins for collection will be given the value of their coins in larger denomination banknotes and coins.

Did you know:

• Eesti Pank issues an average of two truckloads of one and two-cent coins into circulation each year, and only a very few of them make their way back to the central bank. People mostly receive one and two-cent coins as change from shops but very rarely use them for paying with
• The costs of producing and handling one and two-cent coins and their environmental impact are disproportionately large relative to their value
• One and two-cent coins are some 40% of all the coins issued in the euro area
• More information on cash circulation.

Additional information:
Viljar Rääsk
Head of Communications
Eesti Pank
Tel: 5275 055
Email: [email protected]
Press enquiries: [email protected]