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In response to numerous complaints with regard to abuse of the Czech visa system in Ukraine, the Czech consulate in Lvov has moved to simplify and speed up the process. Steps have been taken to root out corruption by local middlemen who blocked the registration system, making it virtually impossible for anyone else to sign up for months. Applicants will now be able to book by phone, eliminating the long waiting lines outside the consulate and the waiting time for a visa should be reduced from 130 days to 75.

The Czech National Bank is due on Tuesday to recommend stricter lending conditions over rising concerns that a potential shock to the economy could lead to widespread defaults on mortgages, despite rising incomes and low unemployment.

The number of Czechs using internet banking has steeply increased over the past ten years. While in 2008, only about 12 percent of Czechs made their payments via the internet, last year it was 57 percent, the Czech News Agency reported on Wednesday, citing data released by the European Statistical Office, Eurostat.

More than one million tourists who visited the Czech Republic last year were accommodated via Airbnb, which is an increase by over 50 percent on the previous year. The number of Airbnb travellers in the regions outside of Prague increased even more significantly, by 108 percent. The data was released on Wednesday by Anita Roth, head of policy research at Airbnb.

Czech central bank governor Jiří Rusnok has hinted that an interest rate rise could be coming sooner than expected amid an unexpectedly feeble crown and soaring local wages.

According to the news site ihned.cz, the Czech National Bank is about to tighten lending policies on mortgages. According to the news site, a number of Czech banks confirmed that they expect new regulations from the central bank next week, which would lower the ceiling on mortgages available depending on income.

The Czech government wants to gain full control over the number of work permits issued to foreigners. At its regular meeting on Wednesday, the cabinet is expected to endorse legislation that would allow the government to set by decree specific quotas for countries outside the European Union.

Czech flight search company Kiwi, one of the biggest air-ticket sellers on the European market, is broadening its business model, the daily e15 reported on Friday. From now on, customers can get a package including air ticket as well as journey to and from the airport. At the end of last year, Kiwi launched a pilot service combining journeys with six large European transport companies, including Deutsche Bahn, FlixBus, National Express, RegioJet, SNCF and Trenitalia.

The Czech government has moved to address one of the frequent woes of foreign tourists in the Czech Republic –losing money in a disadvantageous exchange rate transaction. Under the approved amendment to the Foreign Exchange Act, multiple exchange rates will no longer be allowed and clients will be able to withdraw from a disadvantageous transaction within two hours of making it.

Czech household debt reached 2.18 trillion crowns in the first quarter of 2018, according to data released by the Banking and Non-banking Credit Register on Wednesday. Year-on-year, the Czech household debt burden increased by over 175 billion crowns, or 8.7 percent.