The key facts

  • From October 26 to November 7, Russians will be able to exchange coins for banknotes free of charge at participating banks and stores
  • Rosselkhozbank expects to collect at least 4.6 million coins worth a total of 19.6 million rubles
  • According to the Central Bank, in the previous autumn campaign, residents of the Central Federal District brought in more than 22 million coins worth 86.2 million rubles

The campaign starts on October 26

From October 26 to November 7, Russia will hold 'Coin Week' — an all-Russian campaign by the Bank of Russia, under which the largest banks will open branches to accept coins across the country. This was reported by RIA Novosti, citing representatives of credit institutions; the launch was also covered by Gazeta.Ru. Over two weeks, Russians will be able to exchange their accumulated small change for banknotes free of charge at participating banks and stores.

Which banks are participating and on what terms

PSB has joined the autumn campaign: at its offices, customers can exchange accumulated coins for banknotes or credit the equivalent amount to an account or deposit. VTB clients will be able to hand in coins without commission, and the most active participants will receive commemorative coins made of non-precious metals or banknotes. Gazprombank and Dom.RF Bank have also prepared for the campaign; the latter is launching coin exchange at 10 branches in various regions.

Banks' expectations and the results of the previous campaign

Rosselkhozbank will offer exchange at 61 regional branches and one office at its head office, and expects to collect at least 4.6 million coins worth a total of 19.6 million rubles. Experience from previous years shows notable demand for such exchanges: in November of last year, the press service of the Central Bank's Main Directorate for the Central Federal District reported that during the autumn 'Coin Week,' residents of the Central Federal District brought in for exchange more than 22 million coins worth a total of 86.2 million rubles.

Context

Gazeta.Ru also recalls an earlier news story: a Moscow woman gave fraudsters gold coins worth 12 million rubles. Editorially, we note that the scale of the previous campaign in the Central Federal District alone — over 86 million rubles in small change — explains banks' interest in accepting coins: for credit institutions, it is a way to attract customers to branches, and for citizens, a legal way to put accumulated small change into circulation without commission. Data limitation: the full list of participating banks and stores is not provided in the publication, so the terms at other credit institutions remain unknown.