Eleven years ago today, on the evening of June 28, 2015, Greeks rushed to ATMs across the country after the government a...

Eleven years ago today, on the evening of June 28, 2015, Greeks rushed to ATMs across the country after the government announced capital controls at 9:30 p.m. Within minutes, streets that had been quiet on a Sunday night filled with people clutching bank cards, calling relatives, asking one question: "Will we be able to get our money?" By Monday morning, banks were closed. The European Central Bank had frozen its Emergency Liquidity Assistance to Greek lenders, cutting off their funding and forcing the government's hand. The daily cash withdrawal limit was set at 60 euros, and international transfers required special approval from the state. The images went around the world. Lines stretching dozens of meters outside ATMs. Elderly pensioners, many of whom had no debit cards at all, queuing outside bank branches for special procedures just to receive their pensions. Small businesses, from pharmacies to electronics shops, scrambled to figure out how to pay foreign suppliers or receive raw materials when every wire transfer needed government sign-off. For a eurozone member state, it was without precedent. Greece effectively became a cash-rationed economy overnight, and the 60-euro limit quickly turned into a daily reminder that normal economic life had been suspended. The controls lasted over four years, lifted in full only in September 2019. But the crisis triggered a permanent shift that few expected. Within months, thousands of businesses installed card readers for the first time. Mobile banking and e-banking gained millions of new users. A country that had run almost entirely on cash accelerated its digital payment transition by years, arguably a decade, in a matter of months. That Sunday night changed how Greeks think about banks, savings, and financial security, and the ATM queues remain one of the defining images of modern Greek economic history. #Greece #GreekCrisis #CapitalControls