CBK announces release of updated banknotes with new security features
Existing banknotes will continue to be legal tender and will circulate alongside the new series.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has started issuing new notes bearing the signature of the new Governor Kamau Thugge who took over in mid-June last year.
CBK said in a Wednesday morning statement, the changes will affect Sh50, Sh100, Sh200, Sh500, and Sh1,000 notes. The notes will also bear the signature of Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo.
“All banknotes currently in circulation remain legal tender and will circulate alongside the released banknotes. Release of the banknotes will commence with Sh1,000, while other denominations will progressively follow in the coming months,” said CBK.
The new notes will have the year of print as 2024 and will also bear new security threads with colour-changing effects that are specific to each denomination. CBK said the rest of the features remain the same as those of the series issued in 2019.
The new signatures follow the exit of Patrick Njoroge who retired from the CBK governor role in mid-June last year.
As of the end of December 2023, CBK data showed the value of notes in the country was Sh340.59 billion, with Sh290.97 billion being from Sh1,000 notes. The Sh500-denominated notes were worth a total of Sh16.11 billion, while the Sh200 ones had a total value of Sh11.58 billion. The Sh100 and Sh50 denominated notes had a total worth of Sh6.04 billion and Sh15.56 billion, respectively.
The CBK breakdown means there were about 290.9 million notes of Sh1,000, 32.22 million notes of Sh500, and 57.9 million notes of Sh200. The number of Sh100 and Sh50 notes was about 120.9 million and 155.6 million, respectively.
