There have been reports that the Central Bank of Ghana had issued upgraded banknotes with better security features as the current notes in circulation are being counterfeited on a large scale. However, the bank officials clarified that the upgraded banknotes have nothing much to do with the issue of counterfeiting. They stated that the new notes have been issued to keep up with the changing trends in technology.

The new notes contain an optically variable magnetic image (SPARK LIVE), an improved security thread (RAPID), a more visible watermark and a better iridescent band on the reverse side. Important design elements such as the Big Six portrait, colours, dimensions and important background images have not been altered. The old notes will continue to be in circulation along with the new ones. A “recall process” would be used to end the circulation of old banknotes.

Experts have revealed that counterfeit notes amount to a number which is less than 20% of the issued notes. This figure is less than 1/5th of the benchmark set by the Government, which is “100 counterfeited notes per million notes”. These numbers suggest that the Bank has not issued the notes to due to increased counterfeiting activities. However, officials believe that the new security features will further make it more difficult for counterfeiters to duplicate the notes.

The cost of issuing the new notes has not been revealed by the bank, but officials suggest that the expense was within the budget that is allotted for replacing worn-out banknotes.

Click here to read more about the new banknotes.

Image Courtesy: Central Bank of Ghana