The Euro Is Finished: Reporter Catches First Glimpse of Drachma in Greece

With the situation rapidly deteriorating in Greece, many experts have predicted that Greece may be forced from the Euro. If that happens, then Greece will have to go through the lengthy and complicated process of creating a new currency, which would most likely carry the namesake of their pre-Euro currency, known as the “Drachma.” For now the Euro is still their official currency, but it seems that hasn’t stopped some financial institutions from jumping the gun.

A reporter for Bloomberg stayed at a hotel in Athens from June 28th to July 4th, but when they charged his Visa debit card, the online statement didn’t show his charge in Euros. Instead, it was recorded as “Drachma EQ.” Even stranger, it was in name only. The number of “Drachmas” he was charged was exactly the same as the number of Euros he would have paid. The reporter contacted the companies involved, which included Visa and Citigroup, and their representatives seemed genuinely confused by his statement. The next day, his financial statement went back to being listed in Euros. So far, neither company has offered an explanation for the “mistake” for lack of a better word.

While the world debates and prognosticates the fate of Greece and their currency, someone in the financial world obviously believes that they’re going to ditch the Euro soon. I suspect that they’re confident enough to be prepping their computers systems for the currency transition, and may have accidentally started a little early. Do they know something we don’t?