Romanian lender BCR, part of Austrian group Erste, said it would exchange the Ukrainian currency hryvnia UAH to the Romanian RON as part of a series of measures to support Ukrainian refugees.

It will exchange cash UAH to RON, at the exchange rate set by the central bank BNR, within a limit of RON 2,000 (EUR 400) per person/ Ukrainian passport. This is available only to holders of Ukrainian passports.

Upon arriving in Romania, Ukrainians found they could not exchange their money as the Ukrainian currency wasn’t included in the banks’ currency exchange service.

BCR said it would not apply fees to POS and ATM transactions performed with cards issued in Ukraine, or to inter and intra-banking payments.

Eleven BCR branches can cover the need for additional cash 24/7, the lender said. These are located in border areas, and additional teams work to resupply the bank’s ATMs.

The bank said it also opened a donation section on its online service George for children and youth in Ukraine and made financial donations to Salvați Copiii (Save the Children), Crucea Roșie Română (Romanian Red Cross) and the Association of Young Ukrainians in Romania, three NGOs involved in the refugee crisis. It also made its buildings in areas close to the Ukrainian border available to be used as storage for aid or other intervention supplies, it said. The bank also offers a phone line available 24/7 for Ukrainian citizens for assistance with financial–banking services (0373514244) and email support (suport.linia1@bcr.ro).

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simona@romania-insider.com