The Bank of Ghana will today launch the Heritage Series , a redesigned family of cedi banknotes that feature the country’s heritage, national heroes and culture. President John Dramani Mahama will officially unveil the notes at the Bank Square in Accra.
The central bank says the series is about identity as much as security. “The Heritage Series Banknotes is to celebrate our rich heritage, national identity and the enduring value of the cedi,” the Bank of Ghana said. The launch carries the theme “The Cedi, Our Future: Secure, Designed to Last.”
The new notes cover all eight existing denominations, from GH¢1 to GH¢200. The bank has ruled out any note above GH¢200, and it has told the public to disregard social media talk of a GH¢500 note. The notes keep the traditional cotton material, reinforced to improve durability. The central bank says the redesign responds to about two decades of advances in security standards.
Existing notes remain legal tender and will circulate alongside the new series, and the public has been advised not to rush to exchange or withdraw them. Commercial banks will be the main channel for introducing the notes, and the central bank expects them in circulation by December.
The redesign is the first major change to the notes in years. The current series dates to the 2007 redenomination, and it was upgraded in May 2019 with enhanced security features. The denomination mix last changed on November 29, 2019, with the introduction of the GH¢100 and GH¢200 notes and a GH¢2 coin.
That rollout is the cautionary tale. The Bank of Ghana says it wants to avoid the problems of the GH¢200 launch, when uncalibrated ATMs failed to accept the note. Critics at the time said there had been no public sensitisation and that traders were turning the notes away.
Public education is therefore central to the plan. The central bank says it will undertake extensive education so that Ghanaians understand the security features and can tell genuine notes from counterfeit ones, with the transition period the most sensitive. It has also promised to announce detailed arrangements ahead of the launch.
The bank has again urged the public, businesses and financial institutions not to crumple, write on, staple or spray banknotes.
Banks, traders and the public will be expected to accept both the old and the new notes side by side once the Heritage Series enters circulation.
