"There Are No Restrictions in Belarus, on Accepting Old-Style Dollars," Says Golovchenko

In Belarus, there are no restrictions on accepting old-style dollars. This was stated by the chairman of the board of the National Bank, Roman Golovchenko, as reported by BELTA.

"I can responsibly say that no restrictions or changes have been introduced or will be introduced in the policy of currency exchange operations with individuals. We have no instructions or restrictions on accepting certain types of dollar bills related to their year of issue. Both old and new bills circulate. Banks are obligated to accept and do accept bills of any denomination, as long as they are viable, meaning they meet the signs of viability," said Roman Golovchenko.

All banks operate according to the rules established by an agreement under the auspices of the Association of Belarusian Banks regarding the use of a unified list of signs of the viability of foreign currency banknotes, which provides uniform requirements for accepting U.S. dollars. "This agreement was intended not only to standardize the requirements but also to make them more 'lightweight' so that they would not be excessive. Of course, there is a segment of damaged banknotes that do not possess signs of viability. In the past, this was not an issue since banks could exchange such currency abroad for new banknotes. However, this has become complicated due to known reasons. Nevertheless, I can inform you that Brelarusbank has recently opened operations for accepting damaged banknotes for incasso, that is, for exchanging them for undamaged ones; however, this service is paid for and carries a certain fee," noted the chairman of the National Bank.

If there are no defects or damages, there is no difference for banks between old and new dollar bills, he emphasized. "If any issues arise, they are mostly related to the so-called human factor. However, the National Bank closely monitors this situation on a daily basis and provides the relevant instructions to banks. A call center is available for submitting questions and potential complaints. Overall, the problem is not systemic," stated Roman Golovchenko.

The chairman of the National Bank also reminded that during his tenure as Prime Minister, he recommended keeping savings in national currency. "Now I can provide specific figures that confirm the correctness of my words. If a year ago a person deposited Br1,000, they have now earned Br120. Meanwhile, someone who bought U.S. dollars and kept them under the pillow lost Br20. The math is clear. The figures speak volumes for themselves," he concluded.