Slovakia joins the Eurozone

On 1 January 2009 Slovakia joined the Eurozone. The Euro (€) has replaced the Slovak Crown (SKK) as Slovakia’s national currency. Shops will continue to accept Slovak Crowns until 16 January. Commercial banks will exchange, free of charge, bank notes from 1 January to 31 December 2009, and coins from 1 January to 30 June. At shops, hotels and restaurants change will now only be given in Euros. But these outlets should not be used as change bureaux. Customers should check their change carefully. The official exchange rate is set at 30.1260 SKK = €1.