Citizens of Belarus are getting used to new banknotes and are getting used to being "millionaires"
Photo: Viktor Drachev/TASS
On July 1, 2016, the denomination started in Belarus. The corresponding decree was signed by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on November 5, 2015. How Belarusian ruble started a new life without four zeros, - in a special report from Banki.ru from Minsk.
The denomination in Belarus is going quite calmly. Apparently, the preparation process, which officially began in the fall of 2015, makes itself felt. Then the journalists were shown the new money, they were even allowed to touch and photograph. And the banks were given recommendations on the denomination.
Literally a few weeks after the announcement of the denomination, there were reports in the media that some "enterprising citizens" went to retirees living alone to change old money for "new", but law enforcement agencies quickly explained to the population how to behave in this situation.
Perhaps the criminal aspect was the only negative point in the process of "cutting off zeros" with national currency in Belarus. On the night of June 30 to July 1, the Belarusian ruble lost four zeros and changed its encoding. Now its code is BYN, not BYR.
In preparation for the denomination, June was the busiest period: banks were finalizing software, reconfiguring equipment and training cashiers.
Also National Bank and Belarusian banks clarified that on the night of the denomination:
Cash in ATMs quickly came to an end, but in general, banks coped with the issuance of a large amount of cash quite successfully. True, it was not without curiosities - some withdrew all their savings from the cards. Yes, just in case.
On the night of the denomination, at 23:00 on June 30, banking life in Belarus stopped. ATMs, information kiosks, remote control systems stopped working. banking service. At this point, hundreds of specialists in Belarusian banks reset the electronics.
By 10 am on July 1, most ATMs of Belarusian banks were already fully operational. And they issued new paper money to customers. With coins, everything is much more complicated so far, ATMs are simply not configured to work with them. In Belarus, a whole generation has already grown up that does not know what coins are, the last metal money disappeared from circulation with the collapse of the USSR. By the way, new Belarusian banknotes, and the new Belarusian coins are very similar in design to the euro.
Certain issues have also arisen with remote banking systems. Some banks have taken time out to reconfigure.
Officially, the National Bank of Belarus allowed credit institutions not work with clients on the day of the denomination. However, already in the first hours of July 1, round-the-clock exchange offices (in particular, at railway stations) began to issue new money. Now cash-in-transit machines deliver new banknotes and coins to trade and service organizations throughout the country.
The excitement is observed only on the part of young people and journalists who are hunting for new banknotes. As cashiers in regular and online stores admit, so far almost everyone is paying with old money. There were no unforeseen incidents. It can be stated that the preparation for the denomination was at a fairly high level and Belarus is slowly moving to new means of payment.
By the way, new banknotes- a sample from 2009 (all these years they were kept in the depository National Bank Belarus). These banknotes bear the signature of Piotr Prokopovich, who left the post of head of the Belarusian regulator more than five years ago, in the spring of 2011. The psychological aspect of the denomination is also important - the inhabitants of Belarus are accustomed to the fact that they are "millionaires". average salary in the country was 6-7 million rubles (about 20 thousand Russian rubles). Now with the status of "millionaires" will have to part. 1 million old rubles is 100 new ones. For 1 dollar they ask for 2 new Belarusian rubles, for 1 Russian ruble give 3 new pennies. But so far no one has complained about it.
Until the end of the year, the price tags in Belarusian stores will be in both old and new money.
And the denomination will continue. Old rubles will officially circulate on a par with new ones until December 31, 2016.
Here are the first scams with new Belarusian rubles. Grandmother was given change in one of the shops in Minsk. I will not name the store, because, apparently, the saleswoman herself fell victim to swindlers. Be careful! - Minsker Pavel wrote in a social network.
The photo shows: coins of 1 Russian ruble and 1 Belarusian ruble, of course, differ. But the color, the inscription - everything is very similar. And you just need to know very well what Belarusian coins look like so as not to be deceived. And they began to fall into our hands only from July 1!
And it would not be a problem - unless there was a difference in the amount. The fact is that a Russian coin of one ruble is cheaper than a similar Belarusian coin ... more than 30 times!
And just yesterday at the checkout in the store I saw a man paying with coins, but the cashier noticed in time: this is not our money. The buyer took a closer look, apologized, - says a colleague.
We will not claim that all these deceptions are intentional, not the amounts on which you can get a significant profit by replacing the coins. But we decided to compare Belarusian coins and banknotes with money from neighboring countries. Where else can you accidentally deceive yourself? And what should you pay attention to when paying with new Belarusian rubles, so as not to get change with a cheap Russian coin or accidentally give two euros from your wallet.
1 ruble coins
The diameter of the Russian coin is slightly smaller than the Belarusian one. Ours is even thicker. What is the difference? Firstly, on the reverse: different coats of arms, as well as on the Belarusian coin in large letters "BELARUS".
In addition, the denominations on all Belarusian money - both coins and banknotes - are written in Belarusian. We have "1 rubel", in Russia - "1 ruble".
Coins of 10 kopecks
The Russian coin is again smaller than the Belarusian one. And here, in the same way, you need to read the inscription, and also look for the inscription “BELARUS” on the reverse.
Coins of 50 kopecks
The Russian coin is much smaller in diameter than the Belarusian one. And easier. It's just that the thickness is about the same. But, again, outwardly there are many similarities: both the color and the inscription. It is the same here: we pay attention to the language in which the inscriptions are made and look for the name of the country.
2 rubles
Outwardly, our two rubles as a coin very much resemble two euros. But here we must remember: in Belarusian coins, the edging is golden, and the middle is silver. In the European coin, the opposite is true. Well, the inscriptions of the euro are made in English. It is hardly possible to be deceived here.
20 rubles and 50 euros
At least the color of the notes are very similar. But, still, you need to pay attention to the language of the inscriptions. Here is another piece of advice: do not carry Belarusian money and currency in the same wallet.
After the denomination for 1 Belarusian ruble, 32 Russian rubles will have to be paid immediately. What, Belarusian currency, after "cutting off" four zeros, has it become stronger? Answered by Konstantin Korishchenko, Professor of the Faculty of Finance and Banking, RANEPA
On July 1, a denomination took place in Belarus. The authorities "cut off" 4 zeros at once. We decided to find out from Konstantin Korishchenko, professor at the Faculty of Finance and Banking, RANEPA, former deputy chairman Central Bank of Russia, why it was necessary and what it will give for the economy.
On July 1, the denomination of the national currency starts in Belarus. You should not be afraid of the overseas word - at its core, this is an exclusively technical operation. Old-style banknotes are being replaced with new banknotes. At the same time, four zeros will disappear from them.
- Why was the denomination of the Belarusian ruble necessary?
In short, to simplify economic turnover. Both in practical life and in calculations, extra numbers are an additional risk of making a mistake. That's why a large number of zeros created a certain discomfort and interfered economic activity states. This is the main goal of any denomination. A side effect is the strengthening of the national currency rate in the state. The denomination increases its stability, removes the excess money supply from turnover.
- Why did you decide to cut exactly 4 zeros on banknotes, and not, say, 3?
At one time in Russia they reduced 3 zeros - then there was such a scale of prices that it was more convenient to use a ratio of 1000: 1. Well, in Belarus, the scale of prices is different, respectively, they adjusted to it.
- For 1 dollar now they give 2 Belarusian rubles. Is the Belarusian ruble stronger than the Russian one now?
- Maybe now in Russia to carry out a denomination?
And this, by the way, is a perfectly reasonable question. I think the authorities can come to this. For example, for a convenient settlement system, it is better when exchange rates in pairs are within 100. That is, if a dollar or euro, for example, costs more than 100 rubles, this will be a reason for denomination. Although there is an example of Japan, where more than 100 yen is given for a dollar, and the government does not change anything. But this is rather an exception.
1 US dollar - 2.0053;
1 euro - 2.2210;
100 Russian rubles - 3.1212;
1 lev - 1.1366;
100 hryvnia - 8.0647;
10 zł - 5.0248;
100 yen - 1.9523;
10 Chinese yuan - 3.0167;
10 Turkish lira - 6.9252;
£1 - 2.6880;
100 Czech crowns - 8.2059;
1 Swiss franc - 2.0467.
Vadim Iosub is a senior analyst at Alpari. Analysis methods specialist financial markets and trust management of investment portfolios for stock market. Since 1998 he has been working for Forex market, since 2005 - on the Russian stock market.
Yesterday, the Belarusian currency crossed the mark of 2.1 rubles against the dollar, and this has become quite an important and, to say the least, a little disturbing event for many. Let's see what is happening, are there any reasons for concern and what can be expected from quotes in the near future. To tell the truth, a real currency detective has been played out, which has no obvious outcome yet, but a competent economist is quite capable of identifying the main suspect.
In recent weeks, I have had to answer the questions “What is happening to our currency?” not only from the side of Belarusians. Every day, Russians are interested in what is happening with their ruble. Also daily calls from Ukraine: "The hryvnia is falling - why?" They also write from Kazakhstan: “How long will our tenge become cheaper?” It is significant that everyone is interested in this at the same time, and it can be immediately noted that there is nothing surprising in what is happening with the Belarusian ruble (although there is one intrigue - but more on that later).
And what is happening on the world currency arena, in fact, is this: the dollar is growing significantly against all currencies of countries that are commonly called "developing" or "with emerging economies."
You can look at the picture more broadly, covering the whole world, and then we will see that in the last week, collapses in the exchange rate of the national currency have been observed in Turkey, Argentina, India, Iran, and South Africa. And just yesterday or the day before yesterday, the dollar rates in Iran and India set historic highs.
Taking into account today's trading since the beginning of the year, the dollar has added about 7% to the Belarusian ruble, but in Turkey and Argentina there were daily depreciations of the national currency against the dollar, exceeding our nine-month indicator. In addition, we note that the trend for the growth of the dollar against the hryvnia, tenge and the Russian ruble is much more pronounced.
In fact, we are witnessing a global redistribution of investments. This is not a unique phenomenon, it has happened before and will definitely happen more than once in the future. Today, according to global investors, investments in developing countries have become more risky, at the same time, the benefits from investing in countries with developed economies have increased (in particular, this is due to the fact that the US Federal Reserve has raised and plans to further raise its rates) .
Investor money is flowing from developing countries to advanced economies. This process occurs as a result of a trigger being fired, followed by an avalanche effect. The US economic sanctions against Russia and Turkey, the growth of duties on metals supplied from the same Turkey, the threat of default in Argentina probably served as a trigger. In Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus there are no such specific reasons, we can say that we just got “under distribution” on a tangent, with all the rest developing countries"for company".
Once again: this is a global process, we are not the main participant in it and, what is especially important, we are far from being the main victim.
Can we say that Belarus holds up well? Personally, I would suggest that this could be said before August. At the end of the summer, interesting changes began to take place in the country's foreign exchange market, which most of the inhabitants, most likely, would not attach importance to.
I propose to look not at the dynamics of the Belarusian ruble against the dollar, but at how our currency is changing in relation to the Russian ruble.
Since the beginning of this year, for seven and a half months in a row, the Belarusian ruble has generally been strengthening, the value of the currency basket has been declining. When during this period in Russia there were repeated large jumps in the exchange rate of the national currency against the dollar, the Belarusian ruble reacted in a standard way: the dollar grew against the Belarusian ruble, but at the same time Russian currency cheaper than ours.
This situation has changed since the end of August. For two weeks already, the Belarusian ruble has been depreciating simultaneously against the dollar, the euro and the Russian ruble. The value of the currency basket is growing, and our currency is weakening. At the same time, it is important that the last few days the Russian ruble has been feeling very bad, but even in this situation it is growing in relation to ours.
We're getting to the heart of the intrigue. It is traditionally considered that last years in our country there is a market exchange rate formation: fluctuations in the value of the national currency depend on the ratio of supply and demand. In accordance with this, it can be assumed that around August 25, demand for all major foreign currencies sharply increased in Belarus. And here it must be said that the subject that created this demand is not very clear, there is simply no reason for such interest. I doubt very much that this is the population or Belarusian enterprises.
But just like that, nothing happens in the foreign exchange market. Therefore, we can assume that our National Bank is involved in what is happening, which, buying or selling currency, has the right not to publish information about the operations performed. We will be able to find out indirectly that they were held later, noticing, for example, that the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves have grown.
What is wrong with the fact that the state buys foreign currency and replenishes gold reserves? What is happening today with the Belarusian ruble and how it compares with the currency basket is reminiscent of a sharp change in trend. Our National Bank since the beginning of 2015 in speeches and documents declaring the main directions monetary policy for a year, declares that he does not interfere in exchange rate formation and does not determine trends, but is only ready to smooth out sharp fluctuations in exchange rates during the day.
Meanwhile, recently, when the Belarusian ruble has been strengthening against the Russian one, many representatives of the domestic industry and Agriculture and even the relevant ministries up to their superiors have complained that this state of affairs hinders trade with Russia and makes our products less competitive in the market of the main economic partner. They asked to influence the situation, to intervene.
Literally at the end of August, one of the "tops" of the National Bank once again said: we will not artificially devalue the Belarusian ruble. Not only that, he argued and detailed explained why. Obviously this will worsen economic situation, the dollar may rise even stronger. State external debt predominantly dollar, many enterprises have dollar loans - it turns out that in the end no one will benefit from artificial devaluation. The growth of the dollar by only 1% leads to the fact that enterprises and the state will have to spend a total of 560 million rubles more on debt servicing!
Unfortunately, judging by indirect signs, for the last two weeks the National Bank has begun to artificially weaken the Belarusian ruble against the Russian one. Apparently, this could be the result of pressure from the industrial-agrarian lobby in the government. I repeat once again: no one caught anyone by the hand, and all this is nothing more than my assumptions. I would be happy to be wrong.
Now for the conclusions. Almost certainly, in the near future, the dollar and the euro will grow against our national currency, but this will happen moderately, within reasonable, not causing panic limits. And it is important to understand that this is not a unique problem of our country, but global trend. It is difficult to guess what will happen to the Russian ruble. I really hope that we will not witness how foreign exchange market again tried to steer manually. All previous attempts to do so in Belarus ended in failure.
If the impact on the exchange rate of the Russian ruble was a one-time action, which will end soon, nothing terrible will happen. But the very possibility that it has become possible again is alarming.
I would note that, despite the weakening of the domestic currency, deposits in it still remain quite profitable. At the same time, I would recommend getting rid of savings in the Russian ruble, because in the coming months, judging by the statements of representatives of the US government, a whole cascade of sanctions shocks may await him.
Due to what the Belarusian ruble wins back its positions? AiF asked to answer this question candidate economic sciences Elena SEMAK.
Semak Elena Adolfovna - Associate Professor of the Department of International economic relations faculty international relations Belarusian State University.On the exchange rate(i.e. the ratio of the price of the national currency to a foreign one, for example, the Belarusian ruble to the dollar) is influenced by supply and demand for foreign currency. Dollars and euros are needed by enterprises that buy goods for import, as well as by the population - for tourist trips abroad or for the purpose of savings. At the beginning of 2017, the volumes of foreign currency purchased by these two categories decreased.
According to the National Bank, in January of this year, business entities - residents of the Republic of Belarus, bought more currencies than they sold, the difference amounted to 13.1 million USD. This is much less than in January last year, when this excess amounted to 198.2 million USD.
At the same time, our exporters increased their revenue. Compared to January 2016, sales volume foreign exchange by Belarusian enterprises in the first month of 2017 increased by 262.7 million USD. According to the expert, this indicates a possible improvement in the state of Belarusian foreign trade.
Thus, the first factor that influenced the strengthening of the Belarusian ruble was an increase in supply and a decrease in demand for foreign currencies on the part of business. It is also necessary to add: Belarusian enterprises prefer to buy foreign currency from banks (on the over-the-counter market). On the Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange (BCSE), they purchased only 14.3 million USD, while outside the exchange - 1,278.1 million USD. Namely, exchange rates are set on the stock exchange.
The second factor, according to the expert, was high level expenses of the population during the holidays (dollars were exchanged for rubles, for which goods for a feast were then bought), the third factor is the low level of income, which forces the population to spend foreign currency savings.
Another aspect is political: a sharp weakening of the European currency on the BCSE was caused, to a large extent, by the depreciation of the euro against the US dollar in the Forex market. This is due to fears that Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front, could take the presidency of France, which, if she wins, could withdraw the country from the euro zone and initiate the return of the franc as the national currency of France.
According to Elena Semak, one should not forget that the Russian ruble is strengthening at the same time.
The exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble is determined by the amount (basket) of 3 currencies: euro, dollar, Russian ruble. And the share of the latter in the basket is 50%. Most of our foreign trade is connected with Russia, and in relation to the Russian ruble, the Belarusian ruble is weakening.
Forecasting further changes in the exchange rate is a very difficult task. At the end of 2016, the majority of economists expected, at best, a gradual depreciation of the Belarusian ruble at the same pace as inflation. The further forecast for the development of the Belarusian ruble exchange rate depends on the success of our foreign trade, the growth or decline in household incomes and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates on world markets.
The following main factors influenced the strengthening of the Belarusian ruble:
