Portuguese have until the end of February to exchange the last escudo banknotes for euros at the Bank of Portugal (BdP). However, in many cases this possibility has already expired and others have not yet been “claimed”. This has led the entity led by Mário Centeno to highlight that €187.52 million are to be exchanged, according to Jornal de Notícias.

The last escudo banknotes, referring to the Discoveries series, can be exchanged until February 28, and from March 1 the banknotes will have no value other than in collections.

However, according to Jornal de Notícias the majority of Portuguese people are choosing not to exchange them, so there are still 187.52 million to be exchanged, in all series of the old currency, according to data from the BdP.

Since the end of the escudo, banknotes worth €158.6 million have already been exchanged. Regarding the notes referring to the Discoveries series, 63.98 million euros in escudo banknotes have already been returned, but 94.66 million euros are yet to be delivered. Thus, these 94.66 million, in addition to the 92.86 million euros in banknotes that have already expired, could generate savings of 187.52 million euros for the State coffers.