Euro converters in hand, slightly puzzled looks, ongoing discussions about the euro and an extremely busy Linja Ewro 154, the euro hotline… this was undoubtedly what characterised the start of the new year in Malta.

Retailers’ main headache on New Year’s Day and particularly yesterday, the first day of real business with the euro, was the lack of change in euros, particularly because people had gone to retail outlets, instead of banks, to “change” their Maltese notes and coins for euros, this newspaper has learnt.

In the words of Vince Farrugia, director-general of the Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU), “New Year’s Day was a disaster for some shops that had to close simply because they ran out of change in both euro and Maltese lira. Today (Wednesday) seems a little bit better as retailers stocked up with more euro cash”.

Mr Farrugia repeated the now popular appeal not to use retail outlets as cash centres and to immediately start using the new currency, even though both currencies will be in dual circulation until the end of the month.

The GRTU director-general said that on the whole, it appeared that while retailers were well-prepared and trained for the changeover – both by the National Euro Changeover Committee and the GRTU itself – consumers seemed to be less prepared and this was resulting in delays on certain occasions.

However, he did say that he expected the situation to simply last a few days, until more euro cash was in circulation.

The situation at banks was hectic yesterday morning, with long queues at both ATMs and inside the banks themselves.

Mr Farrugia said the banks were doing a very good job during this busy time and all hands were on deck, including those of managers who also gave a helping hand at cash points.

He said that apart from the fact that there were people who were using shops as cash centres, not enough cash in euros was made available to shop owners prior to the changeover. Some banks could not sell as many starter-kits as retailers would have asked for, out of fear that they would run out.

A total of 33,000 euro starter-kits (worth e131 / Lm56.24 each) were made available for retailers during December, meaning that about four kits could have been purchased by each of the 8,000 outlets.

Mr Farrugia noted that retailers could not even encourage consumers to use their debit or credit cards to avoid having to handle any cash altogether, due to heavy “discriminatory” bank charges.

The GRTU has long been calling on the authorities to reduce interchange charges paid by retailers, arguing that the average two to three per cent charge on each transaction added up to a lot of money on the turnover.

Mr Farrugia said a BOV circular issued yesterday, which stated that no charges would be imposed on retailers for credit and debit card transactions carried out this month, was nothing less than a “joke”.

As for other hitches caused by the changeover yesterday and on New Year’s Day, bus drivers were among those who mostly noted delays in the process and said trips took longer than usual. One particular driver said he was not accepting notes of a higher denomination than Lm2 / e4.66.

Monti open air market hawkers also faced some difficulties dispensing change in euro. One hawker said she had been rounding down prices in favour of consumers. When one lady complained because she was given e0.01 / Lm0.004293 less than she was due, the hawker refused to do business with her, saying people like her were “ignorant and cheeky”.

Meanwhile, the hawker said she sent her daughter to the bank to buy Lm500 / e1,164.69 worth of cash in euros.

Other hawkers said that while it was not a problem for them to make euro conversions, as they were used to serving tourists paying in euros, it was unfair that they were doing the bank’s job, changing Maltese lira for euros. Strangely enough, some said that certain customers even preferred change in Maltese lira.

On a lighter note, an elderly man who was given a e2 / Lm0.86 coin after buying something small from a kiosk outside City Gate in Valletta, tried his hand at a double conversion, asking the vendor whether the coin was equivalent to hmistax-il xelin – 15 shillings, equivalent to Lm0.75 during the country’s last currency changeover in 1972.

On the whole, the situation in retail outlets yesterday morning seemed to be characterised by a mixture of excitement, caution and a just a little bit of confusion.

The whole retail process was slower in some cases, until conversions were carried out and retailers sometimes having had to give explanations to consumers.

Other services such as fuel stations seem to be adjusting to the new currency without too much difficulty, although systems at stations are only expected to be fully euro compatible by today.

As for other hitches occurring a day after e-day, this newspaper received complaints regarding the price of pastizzi (pea cakes and cheese cakes), as well as tariffs at a specific car park and at a car wash facility.

The NECC said it was investigating complaints about these specific cases, particularly the car park, requesting that prices be revised and not rounded up in the owners’ favour.

One reader said he was going to be charged e5/Lm2.15 at a car wash facility that used to charge Lm2/e4.66 for a standard wash, but the attendant did not argue when the reader refused to pay a cent more than e4.66.

Commenting on the price of SMSs, which people had also complained about because the price of each text message had been rounded up to e0.05 / Lm0.0215, NECC executive director Alan Camilleri said it was true that technically, this could seem like a resultant increase in profit margins for mobile service providers.

“This is not true however and we made sure that revenue neutrality is maintained. SMSs are never sold individually, but in bundles and it is the total amount that is then rounded up, rather than the price of individual SMSs.”

It is immediately evident, therefore, that despite a few initial hitches in the changeover process, consumers have all the tools necessary to report any prices that might seem dodgy. Retailers, on the other hand, could certainly do with a little bit more trust from the consumer end.