Only 30,000 retirees who were collecting their pensions through the Eurostandard Bank were able to switch to a different bank until Friday, which was the deadline given by the PIOM fund. That leaves 20,000 retirees who likely won’t be able to collect their pensions at the start of September, and least not without major delays.

With the Eurostandard Bank going bankrupt, tens of thousands of its customers are left in a difficult position. The bank was a small player at the market, but its exclusive contract with the Macedonian Post Office gave it huge reach in smaller cities and towns. Especially the elderly, who are unable to switch to e-banking easily, were using the post office for payment of utility bills, collection of salaries and other business, besides receiving the pensions.

Large crowds continued to pop up across the country all last week as Eurostandard bank customers were trying to swtich their accounts to different banks.