Africa-Press – Angola. The issuance of new five thousand kwanza notes, which will soon enter circulation in Angola, cost 1.6 million US dollars (USD 1 worth Kz 832), with a view to strengthening security elements and inhibiting counterfeiting of currency Angolan money.
According to the governor of the National Bank of Angola (BNA), Manuel Tiago Dias, a total of 30 million new Kz 5000 notes were produced, which will be put into circulation as needs require.
The Central Bank manager, who spoke this Tuesday, in Luanda, during the presentation of this note, pointed out the reinforcement of security elements, the signature of the current governor and date of issue as the main differences between current money and the new note.
“Everywhere in the world, the banknote most targeted for counterfeiting is the one with the highest face value, as is the case of five thousand kwanzas, in Angola. Therefore, the BNA invested, especially in long-life cotton, which guarantees greater durability and inhibits counterfeiting”, he reinforced.
As an example, in 2023, 2500 counterfeit notes were detected, with emphasis on the 5000 kwanza note, out of a universe of 500 million notes.
In addition to the Kz 5000 note, this month the BNA also put into circulation new 1000 and 2000 kwanza notes, with an issue date of November 2023, but belonging to the same series (family) as 2020.
On the occasion, Manuel Tiago Dias said that, in general, the BNA issued a total of 780 billion kwanzas put into circulation, of which 590 billion were in the public’s possession, while the remainder is held by commercial banks..
The governor said that banknotes fulfill a life cycle and as they are issued and put into circulation, through commercial banks, they go into the hands of citizens.
On the other hand, he assured that there is a sufficient stock of 200 and 500 kwanza notes, which is why they will continue to be used. Therefore, all notes belong to the same 2020 series and will circulate simultaneously, he highlighted.
Regarding the poor conservation of some banknotes issued from ATMs, the manager assured that the BNA will continue to work to mitigate this problem.
For his part, the director of the Meio Circular department, Sebastião Baganga, highlighted that the characteristics of the new notes are intertwined, with stronger tones than the old notes.
The current five thousand kwanza note entered circulation on February 4, 2021.
The first national monetary unit, called Kwanza (AOK), was created by Law no 71-A/76 of 11 November (National Currency Law), replacing the colonial shield.
In 1977, the first banknotes were issued by the BNA, starting the exchange of currency throughout the national territory, where 1 Kwanza was equivalent to 1 Angolan escudo.
At the time, banknotes with a face value of Kz 1000, Kz 500, Kz 100, Kz 50 and Kz 20 were issued, in addition to metallic coins worth Kz 10, Kz 5, Kz 2 and Kz 1 (with 100 Lwei = 1 Kz ).
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