What Do Capital Controls Mean in Greece?

The threat of capital controls which has been hanging over Greek citizens is finally here. What does this actually mean not only for Greeks but tourists on holiday in the embattled nation?

Today, employees from the National Bank of Greece, the nation’s largest commercial bank continued to work in Athens’ Syntagma Square. The bank itself is closed. All ATMs are closed. They will open at noon. The Athens Stock Exchange will be closed the entire week to prevent a selloff of national companies.

Greek citizens can only withdraw €60 per day. By Sunday evening lines were already long at ATMs. There are also large crowds at supermarkets and gas stations. The country’s citizens are stocking up for a rough week ahead.

Pension payments, which are critical as there is such high unemployment making people more and more reliant on pensions to live, are exempt. Electronic transactions are also exempt. Capital flight has accelerated from Greece over the years as the country is hemorrhaging money. Greece is losing more than a billion euros a day from their banks, just last week alone. Most high net worth people have already moved their money out of Greece.

Tourists can still withdraw their own bank limits. This is higher than the €60 allocated to Greek citizens. However, the lack of hard currency in machines will make that difficult. Hotels and restaurants will ask for cash payments as they will need money to continue daily operations. They will become increasingly wary of the ability of banks to function.

The United Kingdom has advised citizens in or going to Greece to bring enough cash to to survive. Their embassy website states the following, for citizens to bring “enough euros in cash to cover emergencies, unforeseen circumstances and any unexpected delays.”

There is an emergency Greek referendum scheduled for July 5.