Slovaks offloaded the last korunas in post-Christmas sales before big blue and yellow fireworks mark their country's entry into the euro club on the euro's 10th anniversary at midnight on Wednesday.
Jana Kovacova, a spokeswoman for the National Bank of Slovakia, said that everything is ready for the currency switch, which will make Slovakia the 16th member of the euro zone.
'Slovakia's banking sector is very well prepared for the euro. People should be patient if they have to wait in queues to swap their money these days,' she said, adding the NBS was ready to help with any technical problems.
Slovaks who decided to deposit korunas on their bank accounts and let banks do the changeover did not avoid queues, although banks have reinforced their staff and will be open on January 1, which is normally a bank holiday, as well as next weekend.
Those who did not buy the starter packs containing euros in advance will be able to withdraw the first euros from cash mashines on Thursday morning at 1am. They can also start using credit cards immediately after midnight.
The Slovak government is hoping the single currency will shield the country from the current financial crisis and help it maintain its rapid economic growth.
The former communist country, which launched the euro adoption process after joining the EU in 2004, was lucky enough to complete the euro talks before the crisis struck in September, and to obtain a favourable exchange rate of 30.126 korunas per euro.
The currencies of Slovakia's post-communist neighbours Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, which have to or want to join the euro more slowly, have sunk in the past weeks, hurt by the recession.
Slovakia has opted for a 'Big Bang scenario' with a dual circulation period shortened to two weeks, which means shops will accept korunas until January 16 but they will return only the new euro notes and coins featuring the Slovak cross, Bratislava castle and Mount Krivan.
Slovak authorities believe most of the cash will be swapped in the first week of 2009.
With the addition of Slovakia's 5.4 million inhabitants, the euro zone will now cover about 327 million people.
Since its launch on January 1, 1999, the euro's position as a reserve currency in the world has grown from 18% to 27%, and the value of euros in circulation now surpasses the dollar.
