Payment in kunas and euros—dual circulation in Croatia

The period of dual circulation is the period in which kunas and euros can be used for cash payments. Dual circulation starts on January 1, 2023, at 00:00 and ends on January 14, 2023, at 24:00. During dual circulation, a retailer or payee is not obliged to accept more than 50 kuna coins in one transaction. At the same time, the recipient of the payment is obliged to apply the regulations on the prevention of money laundering and financing terrorism, which refer to the limitation of the amount that can be paid in cash.

The Law on the Introduction of the Euro as the Official Currency in the Republic of Croatia foresees an exemption from the application of the dual circulation rule. Specifically, if the business entity is not objectively able to return the rest of the amount in cash in euros, according to Art. 40., para. 2. it can return the rest of the amount in cash kuna or cash kuna and cash euro.

Branch offices of banks, Croatian Post, and Fine are the primary channels for exchanging kuna cash into euros. Citizens are recommended to use debit cards as much as possible in transactions in the first days of 2023. Furthermore, in order to facilitate cash transactions in the first days after the introduction of the euro, already from the beginning of December 2022, citizens will be able to obtain initial packages of euro coins, which will enable them to pay in the new currency from the first day of 2023. With the same goal, in the first months of 2023, ATMs will have to be stocked mainly with euro banknotes of smaller denominations (between 10 and 20 euros).