National Bank Protects Owners of Old Dollars and Warns About Counterfeits

In Ukraine, citizens have been facing the problem of commission fees for exchanging old dollars for quite some time. Specifically, this concerns banknotes from the 1996 series and older, which are sometimes refused for acceptance or for which significant fees are charged — up to 30%. Such actions cause dissatisfaction and confusion among users of the currency market.

This is reported by AgroReview

Clarification from the National Bank Regarding the Circulation of Old Banknotes

The National Bank of Ukraine has officially urged citizens not to panic and to report cases of demands for additional payments for exchanging legitimate banknotes. According to representatives of the NBU, banknotes from the 1996 series and older remain valid and do not require additional charges. In cases of wear or damage, they will be subject to exchange abroad, and their authenticity will be verified using modern tools — currency counters and detectors.

Which Banknotes Are Considered Worn and What to Do With Them

Worn banknotes include:

• torn or cut;
• burned, rotten, or decayed;
• with design damage, security feature issues, or printing defects;
• with changes in the original color of the paper or images;
• with general dirt or those that occupy half of the banknote, especially under ultraviolet light.

However, there is a category of banknotes that definitely cannot be exchanged — these are counterfeits. Such fake money will be immediately confiscated from clients and handed over to the National Bank of Ukraine for investigation and detection of counterfeiting.