Jamaica’s new financial institution notes unveiled

Jamaica’s new financial institution notes have arrived and are slated for phased launch into circulation in 2023.

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Nigel Clarke, unveiled the printed polymer notes throughout a press briefing on the Financial institution of Jamaica (BOJ) on Thursday.

“These notes are fairly totally different from the notes that exist at the moment. They really feel totally different, they’ve totally different options, and to ensure that them to be in circulation the Financial institution of Jamaica has to work with the prevailing business banks to make sure that the [automated teller machines] ATMs will be reprogrammed to effectively deal with these notes, Clarke outlined.

– Commercial –

The general forex circulation course of might take as much as six months, with an estimated June 2023 completion timeline.

The brand new sequence, which was introduced by the minister in the course of the 2022/23 Finances Debate within the Home of Representatives in March, consists of the introduction of a J$2,000 (One Jamaica greenback=US$0.008 cents) invoice and a redesign of the complete suite of notes.

Clarke highlighted that they keep the decades-old coverage of reflecting Jamaica’s tradition and historical past, “and significantly, on one aspect of the banknotes, any face that seems is the face of a nationwide hero or deceased prime minister”.

As such, all 5 late former prime ministers of Jamaica and the seven nationwide heroes are mirrored on the six notes.

The finance minister additional identified that the notes are much less inclined to counterfeiting and are extra user-friendly for individuals who’re visually impaired.

Central Financial institution Governor, Richard Byles, emphasised that with a purpose to stay forward of counterfeiters and extra successfully mitigate and handle the dangers related to counterfeiting, “the BOJ has enhanced the integrity of Jamaica’s banknotes by incorporating extra state-of-the-art safety features within the new sequence of notes”.

He stated the newly unveiled currencies will tackle public considerations that the prevailing $500 and $5,000 notes usually are not simply distinguishable, particularly in low-light circumstances.

“By giving every financial institution notice distinctly totally different colours, the redesign of the notes ensures that every denomination will be simply and clearly acknowledged and distinguished from different financial institution notes,” Byles defined.

He reiterated that the brand new notes, which can be printed on polymer substrate, are anticipated to final not less than 50 p.c longer than their predecessors, which have a lifespan of about two years.

Consequently, the BOJ says its banknote reorder portions can be decrease, as replacements can be performed much less steadily.

That is anticipated to lead to value financial savings and better effectivity within the Central Financial institution’s forex substitute operations.

The banknotes had been printed by British agency De La Rue, the world’s largest built-in business banknote printer.

CMC/