From January to September 2026, Ukrainians purchased 225.6 billion UAH more in foreign currency on the cash market than they sold. This figure is 16.9% higher than the data for the same period last year. This was reported by Minfin citing Danylo Hetmantsev, according to the portal PromPolitInform.
According to the released statistics, the total volume of cash currency purchases in September alone amounted to 93.2 billion UAH. At the same time, the volume of foreign currency sold by citizens stood at 60.2 billion UAH, which created a net demand of 33 billion UAH.
A significant portion of currency transactions is concentrated in the capital. Specifically, more than 25% of the total volume of cash currency purchased by Ukrainians in September was accounted for by Kyiv.
Growth of demand in regions
Regional dynamics indicate a significant increase in demand in frontline and industrial regions. The leader in growth rates was the Zaporizhzhia region, where currency purchase volumes increased by 44% compared to the previous period.
High figures were also recorded in the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions. There, the volume of currency exchange transactions by the population increased by 34.9% and 23.1% respectively.
Confidence in the financial system
People’s Deputy Danylo Hetmantsev explains this behavior of citizens by a desire to ensure the financial stability of their savings under martial law. At the same time, he notes that the statistics do not allow for the separation of funds saved for a “rainy day” from those spent on current consumption.
Alongside the demand for cash currency, there is a tendency toward accumulating funds in bank accounts. According to the Deposit Guarantee Fund, as of October 1, the annual growth of the population’s deposit portfolio was 17.4%.
State savings policy
According to Danylo Hetmantsev, state authorities continue to work on developing tools to preserve the value of money. Priority areas remain the improvement of bank deposit programs and the development of the government bond market.
The deputy identifies the level of trust in the financial sector as the main prerequisite for the successful functioning of these mechanisms. He emphasizes that the state must ensure reliable protection of citizens’ assets regardless of the storage method chosen, whether it is cash or bank deposits.
Photo: Minfin
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