Eesti Pank issued 215 million euros of cash in the third quarter of the year

In the third quarter of 2022 Eesti Pank issued 6.3 million banknotes into circulation with a total value of 215 million euros. The number of notes issued was 12% smaller than in the previous quarter, and the total value was 20% less. The short-lived but sharp rise in demand in the first quarter was replaced by a fall in demand in the second and third quarters. The overall demand for cash remains at the same level as a year earlier though. The banknote most commonly issued in the third quarter was the 50-euro note.

Eesti Pank issued 9.3 million coins with a total value of 3.3 million euros into circulation in the third quarter of the year. The amount of coins issued was 13% more than in the second quarter. The coins issued most were one and two-cent coins, which made up 44% of all the coins issued.

The commercial banks returned 1.1 million euros of coins to Eesti Pank in the third quarter of 2022, which was 15% less than in the second quarter. Coins can be paid into bank accounts using coin machines at 16 locations across Estonia.

Cash was withdrawn from ATMs on 6.7 million occasions in the third quarter, for a total value of more than one billion euros. The number of cash withdrawals from ATMs was 6% lower than a year earlier. Cash deposits of 570.5 million euros were made in the third quarter, which is 6.3% more than a year previously.

There are 667 ATMs in Estonia, of which 250 accept cash depositing. Alongside the ATMs, cash transactions can also be made in 25 bank offices.

There are some 800 places across Estonia beyond the network of ATMs from which cash can be withdrawn. Cash can be withdrawn from the shop tills of Coop, Gross, R-Kiosk, Meie Toidukaubad, and Aldar Market shops, and from Olerex and Terminal Oil service stations. The shops and service stations have more information on the conditions of the service.

The Eesti Pank survey on access to cash shows that the availability of cash has remained the same in Estonia in recent years. Around 99% of people in Estonia live within 10 km of a point where they can withdraw cash.