The Bank of Finland's customer service office redeems all markka-denominated banknotes printed after the Second Word War until 29 February 2012. Coins that were minted for the last markka-denominated series are also redeemed until 29 February 2012. Coins older than these are no longer redeemed.
The Bank of Finland's customer service office is located on Rauhankatu 19 in Helsinki. It is open to the general public on weekdays between 10.00 am and 12.00 noon and between 1.00 pm and 3.00 pm.
The customer service office is only responsible for the redemption of markka-denominated banknotes and coins. They are redeemed at their nominal value (1 euro = 5,94573 markkaa). Commemorative coins are also redeemed at their nominal value. How quickly money is converted depends on the amount to be redeemed. Small sums are exchanged while waiting, but large amounts of coins must be submitted in advance. The sum will be paid to the customer's bank account within a couple of days. In both cases redemption is free of charge.
Markka-denominated banknotes and coins can also be returned to the Bank of Finland by post at the following address:
SUOMEN PANKKI
Customer Services
PL 160
00101 HELSINKI
FINLAND
All mailing costs are to be borne by the sender. The delivery should be accompanied with a note containing the sender's name, address, telephone number, account number and the amount of money being sent. All banknotes and coins sent from within Finland are redeemed and paid to the sender's bank account free of charge.
If the money is to be paid to a foreign account, the full name of the account holder's bank and as well as the IBAN and SWIFT codes must be supplied. Payment takes about a week, depending on the procedures of the foreign bank concerned. When sending money from abroad, please note that in addition to mailing costs, the customer must pay the fees charged by the banks involved in the process. The fees charged by Finnish banks for refunds in excess of EUR 50 generally amount to EUR 16,20 (EUR 12 charged by the Bank of Finland and EUR 4,20 charged by Sampo Bank). Foreign banks charge their own handling fees. For payments under EUR 50, only Sampo Bank's handling fee of EUR 4,20 is charged in Finland, but foreign banks charge their own fees. These cost calculations are only indicative, because commercial banks' fees may change, case by case.
The customer sevice office does not provide any traditional banking services, ie it does not sell euro or markka-denominated banknotes or coins. Nor does it sell collectable items, such as Finnish 1 or 2 cent coins. Furthermore, the customer service office does not provide foreign exchange services or accept euro deposits.
In Finland, all official coins are minted by Rahapaja Oy, which is a public limited company owned by the Minstry of Finance. Rahapaja also mints collectable items and commemorative coins. They can be purchased from Rahapaja Moneta, a specialist sales and marketing company.
Rahapaja Moneta runs a shop in Helsinki city centre, but items can also ordered by telephone, post or online. Deliveries are only sent to addresses in Finland. The foreign dstributors of special Finnish coins and Finnish euro coin series can be find on the Rahapaja website.
Many stores, cafés and flea markets frequented by visitors sell Finnish 1 and 2 cent coins, and they can also be bought from online services.
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