The study asked people ‘what type of problems they have experienced with the Euro
during the dual circulation’ (phase 1 January 09). This was an open-ended question and
respondents had the opportunity to mention as many issues as they wanted, although the majority have only mentioned one or two.
In regards to the above question, 41 respondents (n=102) did not experience any problems and felt well prepared for the new currency, 14 people mentioned that they were confused
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or worried and another 14 people mentioned that they had to queue or wait a bit longer, 11 were stunned by how little (change) they received, 10 complained about too many coins, 7 said that they had to convert all the time and 9 mentioned that they did not know how, or find it difficult to check whether they received the correct change.During the dual circulation people could pay in the shops with the Slovak crown but change was only given in the Euro. When people received only a handful of coins they were stunned by how little they got back. Under the old currency, coins did not have much value, and thus when people saw only coins they had the impression that they had received the wrong change. To explain this problem this example is given: A lady goes to the shop with 500SKK (€16.60) to do her daily shopping. The shopping comes to 350SKK (€11.61) and she is expecting 150SKK back in change, all paid in bank notes, but instead she receives €4.98 (all in coins). Furthermore, from my own experience and other reports (this was discussed earlier in the Euro Conversion Process Description) there were too many coins in circulation and not enough notes during the dual circulation especially 5, 10 and 20 EUR notes. This meant that even 20 EUR was given in one Euro coins.
To sum up, the responses to the above questions show that about 40% of respondents did not experience difficulty; however, citizens who did experience problems tended to mention a couple of issues. The concern is not about the long queues as this problem is short-term but issues such as feeling confused and worried or finding it difficult to check whether one has received the correct change could be a long-term problem if not addressed properly. And, indeed, table 5.11 shows that the percentage of people who reported difficulty with distinguishing and manipulating Euro cash is highest between the new Eurozone entrants.
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To examine how the situation developed 2 years after the currency changeover respondents were asked respondents to ‘describe their personal experience’ using the Euro, using one or more descriptive words. This was an open ended question in phase 3, January 2011 and respondents generally mentioned a couple of aspects of the changeover.Overall, 21 respondents (n=88) mentioned the word ‘European’, considering the Euro currency as a symbol of European identity and necessary for the EU integration. Citizens are increasingly proud to be identified as European and associate the Euro with developed European countries. It was the aim of the single currency Euro to unify the countries of the European Union and the Euro has been carefully designed, so it appears uniform to all the European countries and their citizens.
A further 18 respondents described the currency positively: e.g. good, better, easy to use, and were happy and satisfied. Individuals who described the experience of using the Euro positively may have a more optimistic attitude towards the new currency and, therefore, it is expected that they adapt to the Euro in more positivist manner.
Few people (13) mentioned easy travelling, no exchange fees and easy price comparison. Some people think that the single Euro currency makes travel easier inside the Eurozone as there is no need to exchange money and they find it easier to budget and compare prices. Previously, people used the Slovak crown, which at one point was a non-exchangeable currency outside of Slovakia. Later, when the currency was exchangeable outside of Slovakia, people were charged high commission fees for exchanging the currency.
Some respondents mentioned that the Euro currency provides better opportunities for business and possibly higher salaries (9). The single currency Euro has higher credibility which should lead to more trade and investment and the creation of new jobs.
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Up to now only the positive aspects experienced by citizens have been presented, and so now some concerns are mentioned. The results show that 10 respondents used a negative word to describe their experience with the new currency, such as ‘bad’, ‘chaotic’, ‘confusing’ or ‘silly’. A further 15 people used the word ‘expensive’. These public perceptions of price increases were a major concern in many other Eurozone countries and are one of the major challenges for the EU. Slovakia had some very effective policies in place to monitor unjustified price increases, but even these policies were not able to fully address citizens’ concerns regarding price rises.Some people (about 4) mentioned that they had problems with budgeting. 6 people declared that they did not understand the currency at all. One possible affect of the Euro changeover is temporary loss of sense of value of the new currency. This could lead to overspending and poor budgeting.
Furthermore, two years after the Euro currency changeover, 8 people said the Euro was something they still needed to get used to. The adaptation process, as is known from the previous research, is a long one and varies widely from country to country and individual to individual. This problem is also affected by the complexity of the exchange rate which is considerably easier in the case of Slovakia than in most of the other Eurozone countries (see Table 9.1 in Appendix). However, simple conversion rates can hinder the learning process according to Marques and Dehaene as people are more likely to convert than to learn the new value of the currency.
Phase 2 from August 2009 shows that respondents generally mentioned a couple of things. For the most part respondents described their experience of the Euro as ‘good’, ‘satisfying’ and ‘positive’. Some respondents described their experience of using Euro less positively. For example, saying that it was something that they needed time to get used to or that they
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had to convert (calculate) and also that they spent Euro money much quicker. Very few respondents used negative words like ‘complicated’, ‘angry’, ‘bad’ or ‘chaotic’.The results from January 09 (phase 1) were similar where generally respondents described their experience of using the Euro positively. For example, as good or that the Euro currency makes them feel more European and proud. Some people mentioned that they need time to adapt to the new currency and a few people described their experiences of using the new currency as not good, chaotic, complicated and that they have to convert.
To sum up citizens’ experiences with the Euro currency, the results generally show an increase in negative responses over time. In phase 3 (two years after the changeover) we had many more negative comments about the new currency. For example, proble,s which were not mentioned before such as difficulty budgeting, a feeling that prices are cheaper, difficulty discerning the real value of Euro, slow reaction to price increases and increase of prices in service sectors (such as plumbing, decorating...) were only mentioned in the phase 3. Some of these issues could perhaps be linked to the ‘Euro Illusion’. It was expected that two years after the changeover the citizens’ concerns would slowly decrease, but in fact they increased over time.
The changeover to the Euro currency posed a challenge to businesses and citizens. Based on the results it appears that the majority of citizens adapted reasonably well to the new currency; however, two years after the implementation of the new currency, some citizens were still experiencing difficulties. It is necessary that these concerns are addressed soon and that citizens who have concerns about their ability to cope with this new currency keep receiving appropriate support.