Cyprus Currency - Euro changeover this month
We thought some of you might be interested in the following (sourced from Wikipedia), especially those of you who have an investment in Cyprus or are thinking about it.
The Cypriot pound will be replaced by the euro as the official currency of the Republic of Cyprus on 1 January 2008 at the irrevocable fixed exchange rate of 0.585274 CYP per 1 euro. However, pound banknotes and coins will continue to have legal tender status and will be accepted for cash payments until 31 January 2008. Cypriot pounds will be convertible free of charge at Cypriot credit institutions until 30 June 2008. CYP coins will be convertible at the Central Bank of Cyprus until 31 December 2009 and CYP banknotes until 31 December 2017.
History
The pound was introduced in 1879. It was equal in value to the pound sterling until 1960 and was initially divided into 20 shillings. However, unlike sterling, the shilling was divided into 9 piastres, thus establishing a nomenclature link to the previous currency, the Turkish lira, which was divided into 100 kurus, also known as piastres. The piastre was itself divided into 40 para (like the kurus). The para denomination did not appear on any coins or banknotes but was used on postage stamps.
In 1955, Cyprus decimalized with 1000 mils to the pound. Colloquially, the 5 mil coin was known as a "piastre" (not an exact equivalence) and the 50 mil coin as a "shilling" (an exact equivalence). The subdivision was changed to 100 cents to the pound in 1983. At that time, the smallest coin still in circulation was that of 5 mils. This was renamed as ½ cent, but soon was abolished. Mil-denominated coins are no longer legal tender.
Currently, at rare instances, cashiers omit the 1 and 2 cents coins from the change they give. Many owner operated businesses, though, often round down the net amount to be paid to the nearest multiple of 5 cents.
Toward euro
The Cyprus national currency will be replaced by the euro on 1 January 2008. The currency entered the Exchange Rate Mechanism II on 2 May 2005 and it was limited within the band of CYP 0.585274 ±15% per euro. A formal application to adopt the euro was submitted on 13 February 2007. On May 16, 2007 Cyprus (along with Malta) won the European Commission's approval for this and was confirmed by the European Parliament on 20 June 2007 and the EU leaders on 21 June 2007. The permanent exchange rate, EUR 1.00 = CYP 0.585274, was decided by the EU Finance Ministers on 10 July 2007. From 12 July 2007 to 5 December 2007, the exchange rate remained at 0.5842. Since 7 December 2007, the rate has been fixed at the irrevocable rate, € = £0.585274.
In Summer 2006, the Bank of Cyprus started including on its statements the indicative balance in Euros. The Cyprus Telecommunications Authority followed suit with its bills two months later. A small number of shops also showed indicative euro totals on their receipts. By late Autumn 2006, the number of banks and shops offering indicative euro equivalents on their statements and pricing had increased significantly.
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