The euro cash changeover 'is advancing according to plan,' the European Central Bank said on Friday.
'On January 1, 2002, the 306 million citizens of the euro area will begin to use the euro banknotes and coins. The euro cash changeover operation has been advancing according to plan, thanks to the thorough preparations and firm commitment of the hundreds of thousands of people directly involved in the process,' the ECB said in a statement.
The bank also provided some advice to make the changeover smoother.
'In order to contribute to a smooth changeover in the first few days of 2002, the public is asked to avoid making mixed payments, that is paying an amount partly in euro and partly in national currency,' the ECB said.
'As far as possible, payments of small amounts should be made using the exact money. To that end, we encourage the public to make active use of the euro coins contained in the almost 200 million starter kits sold since December 14,' it added.
To keep the media and the general public informed of the progress of the cash changeover, the ECB would publish daily updates on its website (www.ecb.int) from January 2 to January 11 and weekly updates after that, the statement added.
