The National Bank of Ukraine (the NBU) updated the rules of online sales of commemorative coins and souvenir products.
In particular:
- It shortened the period for the purchase of any new-issue pre-ordered coins and souvenir products from 45 days to 35 days. This can be attributed to a large number of orders and the system’s high popularity. At the same time, according to the NBU’s data, most of the booked orders are sold within 10–15 days.
- It acquired the capability to block any customers that employ automated programs (bots). This will help avoid abuse of the online pre-order system and improve its efficiency.
- It introduced the requirement to purchase coins and souvenir products only under a notarized power of attorney. The requirement was introduced with the aim to minimize abuses related to the purchase of products by one person with a power of attorney as well as for identification of persons who pre-order numismatic products.
The new rules come into effect on 3 January 2019. All orders placed before said date will be fulfilled in accordance with the previous rules (excluding the requirement for a notarized power of attorney).
In addition, the NBU introduced a new procedure for distribution and sale of Ukrainian commemorative coins and souvenir products through distribution channels.
Starting from 2019, all online orders in all Ukrainian oblasts (excluding Kyiv and Kyiv oblast) will be processed by Oschadbank JSC as the NBU’s authorized bank and official distributor in sales of commemorative coins and souvenir products.
This also applies to commemorative coins “Bogdan Khanenko” and “100 Years since the Signing of the Unification Act – the Integrity of Ukrainian Territory,” which are now available for online pre-ordering and scheduled for issue on 17 January 2019.
As of 2019, the NBU’s regional units have stopped selling Ukrainian commemorative coins of new issues and souvenir products but will sell numismatic products pre-ordered online in 2018 as the products become available for sale in accordance with the schedule. Going forward, the NBU’s commemorative coins and souvenir products will be available for sale at distributing banks.
By amending the rules, the NBU aims for the timely and efficient management of the processes to issue and sell commemorative coins and souvenir products as well as for minimization of abuse during their sale.
For reference
The automated system for online orders of Ukrainian commemorative coins and souvenir products by individuals has been operating since 6 September 2016 on the NBU’s official website.
The NBU has noted the high popularity of the service among users.
At present, some 150 titles of commemorative coins and souvenir products of new issues have been sold through the online pre-order system. At this stage, 1,048,047 pieces of numismatic products have been pre-ordered online, and 855,149 (82%) of them sold.
The full list of rules of online pre-ordering is available here.