Deficit of cash in Tbilisi

Suddenly the people of Tbilisi are facing a new problem. There is an acute deficit of coins in the shops, in people’s pockets, in the buses and elsewhere. There are cases of shops not selling products because they cannot give change. Banks also say that they face problems with coins and sometimes refuse to break down banknotes into change for their customers.

In some ridiculous cases ordinary citizens go to beggars and ask them to change their banknotes into coins. Of course the grateful citizens give a bit extra to the beggars for their trouble, so if the authorities don’t intervene with a new coin issue the problem persists.

There is a new tendency among traders to ‘round up’ prices, for instance GEL 2.70 goods are now GEL 3. The National Bank of Georgia has stated that there is no reason for panic, as according to March 1 data there are GEL 24.7 million worth of coins in circulation and NBG has additional reserves. National Bank officials say that they are ready to satisfy a demand for coins from any commercial bank. But still there is a shortage of coins!