Over time, the European Union remains one of the most powerful associations in the world; in 2014, Latvia joined it, expanding the eurozone to another rather large territory. In accordance with the requirements of the Union, established for all members of this international society, the national currency must be replaced by the euro, which was done by the state administration of the country. Thus, Latvian money lost its influence, and the euro grew into a solid piece of land.
Lats and centimes: a little from history
Latvia has passed all the tests with dignity on the way to European integration and growth of its economy. The national unit of the monetary system was called lats and consisted of 100 centimes. Historical changes in the life of Latvians also affected the economic sector, and therefore several periods can be distinguished in the replacement of monetary units:
- Old lat (1922-1940);
- Rubles of the USSR (1940-1992);
- New lat (1992-2013), which can also be divided into two stages:
- Latvian ruble, or repshiki (1992-1993);
- Latvian lats (1993-2013).
The lat is rightfully considered the "heaviest" currency unit in Europe: only the pound sterling competes with it. An interesting fact is that at the end of 2013, right before Latvia was included in the EU member states, the lat exceeded the value of the pound sterling by 11 Russian rubles, thus defeating its eternal competitor. The largest denomination of Latvian lats, 500 lats, was almost 33,000 Russian rubles.
European integration and exchange of money for euro
Undoubtedly, Latvia joined the European Union with great pleasure, because ATMs stopped issuing Latvian lats on the very day of the signing of international agreements, having irrevocably switched to the euro. Residents of the country can exchange currency in Latvia at any branch of the bank within six months from the moment of concluding the agreement on unity, and the national bank Latvijas Banka provides this opportunity without restrictions on terms and amounts.
As for tourists, they can always exchange any currency at bank branches that work from Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 16.00-16.30, some large banks work until 17.00-19.00, as well as on Saturdays from 9.00 to 12.30. In addition, hotels, airports, sweat offices and even some shops will help you with the exchange. The most popular way to pay for goods and services is non-cash payment using credit cards.
