The Bank of Guyana on Friday officially launched the Gy$ 5000 note, in keeping with its Currency Reform programme. The note will come into circulation on December 9.The face of the note carries the map of Guyana with its natural resources, while the reverse portrays the national bird and the rainforest.
It measures 156 mm x 65mm (similar to existing notes) with the main colours being magenta and green.
The Bank of Guyana’s deputy governor, Dr Gobind Ganga said leading up to the circulation date, an awareness campaign will be embarked on through posters, fliers, and advertisement in the print and electronic media to sensitise the public on the note’s security and other features.
This note will significantly reduce the number of notes that the bank will be required to process in the fast-approaching holiday season.
The tender for the printing of the note, which bears the signature of the Bank of Guyana Governor, Lawrence Williams and Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh was won by Oberthur Fiduciaire from France.
This company is one of the world’s leading private security printers specialising in the design and production of banknotes, cheques, and other security documents, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.
Important addition
The finance minister, who unveiled the high denomination note, said that it represents an important addition to the range of local currency in use; noting that businesses will be handling a single note for every five Gy$ 1000 notes, and in this regard, it will ease the cash-handling costs. Similarly, on a smaller scale, it is more convenient for consumers to execute cash transactions by reducing the quantity of money they have to carry around.
“This really just represents a higher denomination; that is to say that our dollar has the same value today as it had yesterday except that now we will be holding one Gy$ 5000 bill instead of five Gy$ 1000 bills,” the minister emphasised.
The Gy$ 500 denomination was issued in 1992 and the last denomination that was issued was the Gy$ 1000 note in 1996. The latter currently accounts for 60 per cent of notes in circulation and more than 90 per cent of the value.
Since 1996, the volume and value and transactions have increased exponentially, which necessitated the introduction of this new note.
