Slovakia adopted the euro when it joined the euro area on 1 January 2009.
Before that date, Slovakia used the Slovak koruna, which had been the country’s currency since the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993. Slovakia became the sixteenth country to adopt euro banknotes and coins, following a formal assessment of its economic readiness under the European Union’s convergence criteria.
The conversion rate was fixed at 30.1260 Slovak korunas for one euro. Slovak koruna cash was withdrawn during the changeover, while euro notes and coins became the country’s legal tender. Slovakia’s euro coins carry national designs alongside the common European side.
The euro is divided into 100 cents and is issued within the Eurosystem. Slovakia’s adoption is sometimes confused with the Czech Republic’s currency arrangements: both countries emerged from Czechoslovakia, but the Czech Republic continues to use the Czech koruna.