Central Bank of Egypt to Issue Polymer Banknotes in 2021

[Bimat]

Egypt To Launch Polymer Banknotes Next Year From The New Capital's Soon-To-Be-Opened Printshop

Nile FM Staff

Egypt is going to launch its shiny new EGP 10 and EGP 20 polymer banknotes next year when the Central Bank's new print shop opens at the New Administrative Capital (NAC).

The new polymer banknotes were announced earlier this year as the nation's financial authorities move towards a safer, less forgeable, and much more durable material for the nation's money.

Sources told Youm7 that the new banknotes are set to be printed according to the highest international standards and will start with the EGP 10 and EGP 20 banknotes which will be circulated along with the old paper money during the first phase of the launch.

The Central Bank of Egypt will oversee the process of replacing old and damaged banknotes from the market and replacing them with the new ones to ensure that no extra money is being printed and circulated, which can result in an increase in the nation's inflation rate and a general increase in prices due to the supply-demand principle in economic.

Contrary to what many people think, this process is really precarious as nations usually print paper money according to certain economic calculations meant to take into account future increases in prices, the nation's overall economic health, as well as imminent changes to the inflation rate. Banknotes are a reflection of how much cash or liquid assets are circulating within a nation's economy which makes it a pretty delicate process that could topple the economy if it is done incorrectly.

This is the very reason that the CBE is starting the polymer banknotes overhaul with two of the lower currency values out there, the EGP 10 and EGP 20 with plans to swap out the rest of the banknotes in the future.

Polymer banknotes have 5 times the lifespan of paper notes and are characterized by more flexibility, strength, and less thickness when compared to paper notes.

Over the past 40 years, the Egyptian government has been making changes slowly to the nation's banknotes, whereby they started by adding a unified watermark on all Egyptian money and proceeded to add characteristic strips and visually variable elements in the ink used in printing money to combat forgery.

Many nations around the world have already implemented the use of polymer banknotes because of all the advantages they offer when compared to their paper counterparts.

Source: MSN News