RWANDA: Central Bank to print new Rwf500 and Rwf1,000 notes

An Extraordinary Cabinet Meeting chaired by His Excellency Paul Kagame, has approved plans to print new currency notes of 1,000 and 500 Rwandan franc denominations.

According to media reports, the notes will be printed by firms in Russia and Germany and overseen by the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR). The Central Bank is an integral part of the financial and economic system of a country. They are usually owned by the government and given certain functions to fulfill including printing money, operating monetary policy, lender of last resort and ensuring the stability of financial system.

BNR clarified that earlier notes will continue to be legal tender till they are out of circulation Currently, the Rwandan currency has notes in the denominations of 5,000, 2,000, 1,000, 500 and coins in the denominations of 100, 50, 20, 10, and 5.

According to officials from the bank, the move was necessitated by a number of reasons, including the need to upgrade security features to avoid counterfeiting. There will also be a change in design and this will serve to replenish the bank’s stock to support the public demand as the notes are the most used in the economy. Speaking to local media, The Director for Currency and Banking Operations at the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR), Denis Dadou Habumugisha, said the move will also help keep the banknotes in circulation clean.

Following the approval by Cabinet, the development will take effect as soon as the presidential order is published in the gazette as provided by law.

Globally issuance of new banknotes is subject to complex economic procedures and strict international security standards to avoid counterfeits.