Reserve Bank reveals South Africa's new-look banknotes and coins

South Africans will start encountering cash in new forms on Thursday as the Reserve Bank’s newly designed money is released on the market. 

The entire range of banknotes and coins have been upgraded with enhanced security features and new designs — but will continue to pay tribute to the country’s first democratically elected president with the portrait of Nelson Mandela on the bank notes. 

The 'Our Money Our Pride’ launch of the upgraded currency took place on Wednesday afternoon at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton, Johannesburg, and was attended by Reserve Bank officials, Mandela Foundation dignitaries, Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago and deputy finance minister David Masondo. 

The newly unveiled money once again features the big five, only this time they will feature as families on the back of each note rather than lone animals. 

Again, the main theme for the coins will be deep ecology, which the Reserve Bank chose as an acknowledgment of “the interconnectedness of living organisms as an integral part of the environment” and are depicted by plants and wildlife creatures. 

The denominations will be introduced incrementally into the market. The upgrade has been carried out in line with international best practice to combat counterfeiting and to stay abreast with technological advancements. Banknotes are generally refreshed in six-eight-year intervals, with coins being changed every 20-30 years.

The current Mandela banknote series was issued in 2012 followed by a commemorative series in 2018. The current coin series was issued in 1989.

The new designs will be released in the same denominations, and the size and paper of the banknotes remain unchanged. However, the colours have been subtly enhanced to cater for partially sighted communities. 

At the launch of the upgraded notes and coins, Kganyago said the Reserve Bank — as the only body able to both create and destroy money — did not demonetise old currency and that all previously issued banknotes and coins in circulation will continue to be valid and traded along with the upgraded money.

“And don’t think you can keep your old banknotes as collectors items and then try to sell it back to us in a few years for a higher price,” he joked, as he encouraged people to engage with the new notes and coins and to become familiar with them. 

Changes to the upgraded banknotes and coin are available on the SARB website and the SARB Currency App, now available on the Apple iStore and the Google Play Store.

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