Google glitch undervalues Poland’s zloty by a fifth
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Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski appealed on social media platform X for Poles to "relax", saying the zloty rate was due to "a data source error".
PHOTO: REUTERS
WARSAW – Google provided information that incorrectly undervalued the Polish currency, the zloty, by over a fifth, prompting the authorities on Jan 2 to calm the public and demand that the search engine giant provide an explanation.
On Jan 1 evening, Google’s currency converter showed a rate of up to 5.20 zlotys per euro and 4.70 zlotys per US dollar, which represented a drop in value of more than a fifth from the rate on the previous trading day on Dec 29.
The information set off a storm of speculation on X, formerly Twitter, and although Poles did not rush to buy dollars on Jan 2, officials called for calm.
“Relax. This zloty rate that is causing panic is a ‘fake’ (a data source error),” Poland’s Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said on X.
Poland’s central bank on Jan 2 said the exchange rate published by Google was “fictitious”, adding that the currency exchange rates and charts on the platform “are not always precise”.
The Finance Ministry said it had officially asked Google Poland to explain how the incorrect exchange rate was published.
In a statement quoted by Polish television channel TVN24, Google said its currency converter relied on data from “external sources”.
“If inaccuracies are reported, we contact data providers to correct errors as quickly as possible,” the company added.
On Jan 2, the Polish currency traded at around 4.34 zlotys per euro and 3.94 per dollar, according to the Polish central bank rates. AFP
