The dual circulation period ended in Estonia on Friday 14 January, and the euro is now the only currency to be legal in the country. The changeover was very smooth and successful and no major problems were encountered as banks, post offices and retailers have been coping well with the extra workload caused by the changeover process and the parallel handling of two currencies.

On Saturday 15 January, it is estimated that some 13% of Estonians still had some kroon banknotes in their wallets, which can be exchanged until the end of June for euros at the official exchange rate and without a service fee in bank branches which offer currency exchange services. After this date kroons can also be exchanged in a limited network of bank offices for at least another six months. Thereafter, kroons can be exchanged for euros without a service fee in the Estonian Central Bank for an unlimited period of time.

As pointed put by Commissioner Rehn, the fact that the changeover to the euro in Estonia has been successful and smooth is the result of careful preparations, and the close contacts of the national authorities with the Commission and the ECB. This preparations for the introduction of the euro in Estonia as from the 1 January 2011 ensured that ATMs were converted to euros without problems and virtually all of them were distributing euro banknotes as from the first hour of 1 January. POS-(point-of-sales) terminals for card payments in shops were also prepared for the opening of shops on 1 January and interbank payments in euro were running smoothly as from the first banking day of the year.

Banks and post offices coped well with the extra work load during the dual circulation period, although some queues unavoidably built up in the first weekdays of the changeover, with the number of over-the-counter transactions being 3-5 times higher than usual. The retail sector also managed well with the challenges of the changeover process and the handling of two currencies at the same time. No major problems were reported.