Barbados’ polymer banknotes to circulate starting December 5
Barbados’ new banknotes will go into circulation on December 5. The notes, which will have a new design and are made of polymer, will last longer in circulation and will be harder to counterfeit.
“Starting on December 5, we will be issuing notes from the new series to commercial banks, who will then make them available to their customers,” revealed Octavia Gibson, Director, Currency and Payments Oversight at the Central Bank of Barbados. “Members of the public will not be able to come directly to the Central Bank to get the new notes.”
Gibson also confirmed that Barbadians will still be able to use older notes after the new ones go into circulation. “As we switch from paper banknotes to polymer ones, the old notes will remain legal tender and can continue to be spent. Businesses should therefore continue to accept them.”
The Central Bank first announced that it would be changing the design of the banknotes back in April. Since then, the organisation, the sole issuer of Barbados’ national currency, has embarked on an education campaign to prepare the public for the change.
The Central Bank of Barbados is proud that the new notes are “Bajan to the bone.” The new notes features the following:
- iconic barbarians on the front
- related images in the back
- abundance of tridents
- lines from the national anthems
- outline map of Barbados