Greece, June 2015: Sixty Euros at the Machine, a Queue at the Counter
Greek branches shut on 29 June 2015 and reopened on 20 July. The 60 euro machine limit, the pension counters and the cards, dated and sourced.
01
The Hour
08:00
Monday 29 June 2015. Thessaloniki.
About 100 retirees were waiting outside the main National Bank of Greece branch. One, aged 74, told AP he had arrived at 4 a.m. to collect his pension. He had no card.
At 8 a.m. an employee came out and told them they would get no money that day.
A decree published in the early hours had declared a bank holiday from 28 June to 6 July. Cash machines were to come back within 12 hours of publication, limited to 60 euros a day. Many elderly Greeks, AP reported, drew their money in person at the teller.
02
The Sequence
Reconstructed to the day. Hours appear only where the record gives them.
27 Jun
Early Saturday, the prime minister announced a referendum on the creditors' proposals in a televised address. AFP counted three to ten people at each of ten machines in central Athens, and a line of 50 at one branch in Thessaloniki, where some branches had run out of notes.
28 Jun
Sunday. The ECB held emergency liquidity for Greek lenders at the level set on 26 June. Germany's foreign ministry told travellers to take sufficient cash; the UK Foreign Office warned card processing and machine servicing could be limited at short notice. AP reported tourists joining locals in the lines at machines.
28 Jun
Evening. The Systemic Stability Council met until late. In a televised statement, the prime minister said the Bank of Greece had recommended that branches stay closed, with limits on withdrawals, and that deposits were secure.
29 Jun
The decree, published early Monday: no withdrawals beyond 60 euros a day at machines; cards and web banking allowed for payments inside Greece; payments abroad prohibited; pensions exempt. AP reported long queues at petrol stations, where drivers paid by card, and many retailers not taking cards that morning.
30 Jun
An amending act allowed deposits at machines and branches and the issue of new cards at branches. It let the finance minister set a daily ceiling for pension withdrawals.
1 Jul
About 1,000 branches opened for pensioners without cards, paying out up to 120 euros each. An earlier plan had allowed 240. Three lenders agreed overnight to serve customers alphabetically; another served them in order of arrival.
2 Jul
To Vima reported suppliers demanding payment in notes, and fuel stations short because they could not pay suppliers electronically. The economy ministry said stations could make electronic payments to suppliers.
6 Jul
The holiday, due to expire on 6 July, was extended to 8 July inclusive, according to a Clearstream notice citing Citibank Athens.
9 Jul
A finance ministry statement put the end of the holiday at 13 July. Reuters had reported on 8 July that lenders were struggling to keep machines stocked.
16 Jul
An act of 14 July had extended the holiday to 16 July. That evening a ministerial decision extended it to 19 July inclusive.
20 Jul
Monday. Branches reopened after three weeks, with controls still in place. The 60 euro daily limit could now be accumulated, up to 420 euros a week. Transfers abroad stayed banned, except for medical care and students.
03
The Hidden Dependency
The 60 euro limit was written for the cash machine, and a machine needs a card. AP reported on 29 June that many elderly Greeks had none and drew their money in person at the teller.
The response ran through the branch. An amending act on 30 June exempted pension payments, let the finance minister set a daily pension ceiling, and allowed branches to issue new cards.
On 1 July about 1,000 branches opened for pensioners without cards, at 120 euros each. Those who missed out queued again on Thursday and Friday.
For a pensioner without a card, the reopening that counted was a counter, and the counter carried its own limit.
04
What Still Worked
Cards inside Greece
The decree allowed card payments and web banking to accounts within Greece from the first day. Drivers queued at petrol stations to pay by card.
Foreign-issued cards
Could still draw notes at Greek machines. Accounts of their limits differed; see section 05.
Pension counters
About 1,000 branches paid up to 120 euros to pensioners without cards, from 1 to 3 July.
Approval committee
Set up by the Treasury to review payments abroad case by case, such as medicine imports and remittances sent out of the country.
05
On the Record
Contested
28 to 29 June 2015
On 28 June, Sweden's foreign ministry said some restaurants and filling stations had stopped accepting cards. The same day, the president of the Greek Tourism Confederation said foreign clients had no problems and nothing had changed.
On 29 June, Reuters summarised the decree as allowing withdrawals on foreign-issued cards subject to limits the finance minister could set. AP reported those cards could be used at machines without restrictions.
AP also reported card payments were not restricted, while many retailers were not taking cards that morning.
06
The Pattern Library
#1
Cash machines continued to dispense through the bank closure under daily withdrawal limits that were imposed or lowered during the closure, and keeping the machines stocked with notes became a constraint.
Observed: Cyprus 2013, Greece 2015.
CHANGED TODAY: #1 refined and Greece 2015 appended. The wording now covers limits imposed at the start of a closure as well as limits lowered during one, and names keeping machines stocked as the constraint rather than machines running out.
