An initiative (No. 41/010962-26ep) calling on the government and the National Bank to consider returning 1, 2, 5 and 10 hryvnia paper banknotes to circulation appeared on the electronic petitions portal of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on September 21, 2026. The author of the document is Konstantin Vladimirovych Salahub, who asks officials not to scrap metal coins but to ensure the parallel circulation of both paper notes and coins. As of 18:00 on Thursday, September 24, 2026, only 35 signatures had been collected out of the 25,000 required for mandatory review, indicating that the initiative is still of a symbolic nature.
Essence of the initiative
In the text of the petition, the author recalls that after small paper banknotes were withdrawn from active use and their printing was discontinued, and they were fully replaced by metal coins, citizens have faced a number of everyday and practical inconveniences. Salahub emphasizes that in many areas of retail trade and on public transport there remains a need for convenient and fast cash payments. At the same time, the initiator explicitly states that he is not proposing to abandon coins, since they have a longer service life, and insists on "freedom of choice and compromise" for society.
The petition author's arguments
The key argument of the initiative is providing a choice for different categories of users: "from those who prefer light cash to those who are used to using coins," Salahub formulates. The document contains a direct appeal to the National Bank of Ukraine and the relevant authorities to "resume the issuance and ensure the circulation of 1, 2, 5 and 10 hryvnia paper banknotes in parallel with the existing coins." Thus, the issue is not about replacing coins, but about expanding cash circulation with light paper notes for small amounts.
Context: the abolition of small banknotes and new denominations
The initiative emerged against the backdrop of major changes in cash circulation that the NBU was carrying out in 2026. According to industry publications, the process of replacing banknotes of up to ten hryvnia with metal coins and withdrawing them from circulation was recorded in March 2026. At the same time, the regulator is expanding the upper end of the denomination range: on September 4, 2026, a banknote of the new highest denomination — 2,000 hryvnia — was introduced into cash circulation, featuring a portrait of the Ukrainian poet of the Sixties, Vasyl Stus. In the expert community, the feasibility of introducing a 4,000-hryvnia note is being discussed in parallel, and financial analyst Andriy Shevchishyn has publicly reasoned about when Ukraine might need a 5,000-hryvnia banknote.
Market reaction and prospects
At the moment, the petition has not reached a critical mass of signatures: 35 out of 25,000 is less than 0.2% of the threshold for mandatory review, so the likelihood that the initiative will reach an official response from the Cabinet of Ministers is extremely low. Nevertheless, the topic itself brings the discussion of the structure of cash circulation back into the public sphere: on the one hand, the regulator is steadily moving small denominations into coin format and introducing large notes, while on the other hand, some citizens point to the everyday inconveniences associated with the disappearance of light paper money. Collectors and the market are already showing separate interest in individual copies of the new 2,000-hryvnia note, which may cost more than their face value, further underscoring society's attention to changes in Ukraine's currency range.
