The Bank of Central African States BEAC, has urged people to spend, deposit, exchange their current bank notes before the notes stop being legal tender from June 2024.
BEAC made the revelation during an extraordinary meeting where it was revealed that they are replacing the paper notes with more durable ones.
“From 1st March 2023 to 31st May 2023 (3 months), those in possession of the current bank notes shall go to any Commercial Bank and even BEAC for exchange to receive the New Banknotes ( 500 frs, 1000 frs, 2000frs, 5000 frs, and 10,000frs)”.
It was equally announced that the 2002 generation of bank notes will progressively be removed from circulation from January next year, those keeping the bank notes will be allowed to change them at commercial bank counters until June 2023, after that it will be possible only at BEAC until June 2024 when they will no longer be accepted.
The new range of Bank of CFA FRS bank notes approved by the UMAC Ministerial Committee, have been designed to be more resistant and difficult for counterfeiters to copy.
According to the resolution signed by the President of the Ministerial Committee Herve Ndoba, the new generation of bank notes comes at a time when the economy of the country is marked by inflation, so the new notes will guarantee propensity of the economy and money stability.
Another innovation injected on the new bank notes is the inclusion of the languages of the community of the bank notes.