A number of ATMs ran out of cash yesterday but bank spokesmen said this was because the machines were not fully stocked with euros because up to 10 p.m. on Monday they were still dispensing Maltese liri, reported The Times.

The Times also  states that no official explanation was given as to what caused the BOV ATM at Valletta Waterfront to twice fail to dispense cash when Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi tried to withdraw the first euro notes at midnight on Monday night.

However, sources of The Times said the machine worked well when tested just moments earlier. The joke was that Mrs Gonzi had used the card before and had exceeded the limit for the day or that Dr Gonzi had used Malta's debit card, which also was overdrawn.

Apart from the amount of money withdrawn from ATMs, the first day of the euro was uneventful, with most establishments being closed and with the old Maltese currency remaining legal tender until the end of the month, after which it can still be exchanged at commercial banks and at the Central Bank, adds The Times.

Stationers, which opened to sell newspapers, reported having clients turning up to buy newspapers with Lm20 notes, evidently using the shops to change old currency into euros. Euros were also conspicuous by their absence in Church collection trays yesterday, with old Maltese coins prevailing.

The Times reports that several children, who have been used to using plastic euros at schools over the past few weeks, yesterday could get the real feel of the euros on opening starter kits which their parents bought for them.

Both HSBC and BOV reported their systems were all in perfect order, including internet banking systems. Central Bank Governor Michael C. Bonello said, when contacted by The Times, the changeover was proceeding smoothly.

"We did not expect major surprises. The changeover has been meticulously planned for the past two years. The software we use at the bank is tailor made for a central bank and we fine tuned it along the way. "Staff at the Central Bank were working on Monday night and yesterday and everything is in place to be able to file our first report to the European Central Bank," Mr Bonello said.

The Central Bank has to send a daily balance sheet to the European Central Bank every day as the ECB has to draw up a balance sheet of the entire euro area. "We always kept an up-to-date balance sheet but this reporting function is a new thing," Mr Bonello said.

Relive the major events that made the headlines in 2007 with MaltaMedia's Special Review of 2007.