19 million hryvnias - such an amount was collected and exchanged for euros in all Florinus salons in Lithuania in just two weeks. Currency exchange is still the main problem for Ukrainians in Lithuania. For nearly a month now, Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine has forced more and more people to leave the war zone.
According to the Migration Department, more than 20,000 Ukrainians have already arrived in Lithuania. All that they managed to take with them was the essentials, documents and money - hryvnias. However, upon arrival in Lithuania, they faced the problem of currency exchange.
During the arrival of a large number of refugees two weeks ago, only a few currency exchange offices were operating in Lithuania, converting hryvnias into euros. True, the exchange rate drove the citizens of Ukraine into despair. Some exchange offices for one euro asked for 2.5 times more hryvnia than the official exchange rate of the Bank of Lithuania provides.
This situation was noticed on social media. The founder of “Laisvės TV” and public figure Andrius Tapinas reacted to the situation very quickly. On his page on the social network Facebook, he asked not only Lithuanian currency exchange offices and banks, but also caring people, whom he asked to provide minimal assistance - by uniting, contact these institutions with a request to set a more favorable currency exchange rate.
In response to this situation "Florinus" joined the initiative of A. Tapinas and extended a helping hand from the war to fleeing people. All that Ukrainians who arrived in a foreign country want at the moment is to feel safe and acquire the necessary things.
They cannot do this with their own currency, so for more than two weeks, currency exchange offices have been opened in all Florinus salons. It offers the best exchange rate throughout Lithuania. Fixed exchange rate - 40 hryvnia for 1 euro.
The established favorable rate is our help and support to the citizens of Ukraine. Lithuanians and Ukrainians have always been fraternal people, so we want to help, not trying to make money on the situation.
Now the most important task remains to help exchange the hryvnia on the best possible conditions. We want people fleeing war to feel comfortable. As business representatives, we cannot help but react, and in such a situation, we feel our obligation to help.
The efforts of Florinus to help Ukrainians were also appreciated by Simonas Krepshta, a member of the board of the Bank of Lithuania. In an interview with LRT, he mentioned that he sees this initiative as an example of responsible business conduct in this difficult period.
In all “Florinus” salons in Lithuania, we not only exchange hryvnias for euros, but also buy them at a similar rate: 1 euro = 40 hryvnias. It is impossible to predict how long it will be possible to carry out transactions of this type.
Currency exchange will be suspended if the sale of hryvnias decreases or the amount intended for the exchange is spent. Anyone can join to help. In all “Florinus” salons there is an opportunity to buy the desired amount of hryvnias. This initiative will allow us to continue changing hryvnias to euros and, thus, helping Ukrainians who have arrived in Lithuania.
Currency exchange statistics in “Florinus” salons for the last week
After the beginning of the exchange of hryvnia for the euro, on March 7, a limit of 100 thousand euros was allocated. However, in the evening of the next day, March 8, this amount has been exceeded. The idea of A. Tapinas - "Laisvės bankas" - helped to resume currency exchange services. People not only donated money, but also came to exchange euros for hryvnias in order to sell them as soon as possible and resume their exchange.
Hryvnia to euro exchange statistics from March 7 to March 20:
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
ATTENTION:
We invite you not to remain indifferent. Please share this message in all groups that provide assistance to Ukrainians and pass this information on to everyone who may be concerned.
About the currency exchange service: https://www.florinus.lt/en/services/currency-exchange
