Half of Estonia's ATMs Are Stocked with Euros
As of 6:00 on December 31, around half of Estonia's 800 ATMs were flush with euros and shut down, awaiting the first minutes of 2011 to join the EU's single currency.
Escorted by the police, the security personnel swapping Estonian kroons for euros believed the biggest hurdle would be the weather, as Estonia is experiencing the most snow-packed blizzards on record. Everything has gone smoothly so far.
"Luckily there have been no blizzards, the roads are open and so far the cash carriers have had no problem getting to the ATMs," said Veiko Vaher, division director for the security company, G4S.
The security company began working on the previous evening. Once an ATM is filled with euros, the machine will be shut down until January 1. A small number of ATMs owned by Sampo and Nordea banks will remain in service.