From 4 September, Ukraine has put a 2,000-hryvnia banknote into circulation. The NBU press service said a combination of factors influenced the need to create a new banknote.
Since the 1,000-hryvnia banknote was introduced in 2019, the average monthly wage in Ukraine has tripled, while the price level, based on the inflation index, has doubled. This has driven the need for more cash: whereas after the 1,000-hryvnia note was introduced it took 10 of the highest-denomination notes to withdraw an average monthly salary, this year it takes more than 30 notes.
“Secondly, the amount of cash in circulation has more than doubled — from almost UAH 390bn in 2019 to over UAH 970bn as of 1 July 2026. Increased demand for cash has been driven, among other things, by wartime needs. The resilience of the financial system is ensured not only by the availability and uninterrupted operation of cashless infrastructure, but also by convenient access to secure cash. For example, when residents of frontline communities are able to make payments even where there is no stable connection. Thirdly, there have been changes in the structure of cash in circulation. At present, the share of 1,000-hryvnia banknotes by value has already exceeded 55%. In global central-banking practice, this indicates the need to introduce a higher-denomination banknote,” the statement said.
At present, 96 out of 100 payment transactions in Ukraine are cashless. However, in wartime the financial system must be resilient, including ensuring people have access to cash.
The NBU believes introducing a 2,000-hryvnia banknote has a number of advantages for the state, as well as for the public and businesses. For the state, the benefit lies in reducing logistics and cash-circulation servicing costs. Fewer banknotes for the same volume of transactions means lower costs for production, transportation, cash collection, processing and storage.
For banks, it means a reduced operational burden, optimised cash-desk processes, smaller volumes of cash to process, and faster cash provision. Retailers will find it easier to serve customers. For businesses, it means simpler and faster cash settlements with customers. For the public, it means greater convenience in using and storing money.
“The introduction of new 2,000-hryvnia banknotes is not connected with ‘printing money’. They will enter circulation exclusively through exchange for non-cash funds or exchange for banknotes of other denominations. That is, there will not be more money in circulation. Therefore, this will not lead to an increase in the money supply in the economy and, accordingly, will have no consequences for inflation or the foreign-exchange market,” the central bank stressed.
The date was not chosen by chance: on 4 September 1965, the poet Vasyl Stus, whose portrait appears on the note, together with Viacheslav Chornovil and Ivan Dziuba, staged the first public protest in the USSR against the repression of the Ukrainian intelligentsia at the premiere of the film «Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors». Also, 4 September is the day of Vasyl Stus’s death in a camp in Perm Oblast.
- The 2,000-hryvnia banknote was presented in July, but the current version differs from it. The typeface on the banknote was changed so that it would not resemble a Russian one.