JEDDAH, 12 June 2005 — The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has urged the public to replace the old Saudi riyal notes for 500 and 100 riyals with new ones which were issued in 2003. SAMA said the old notes would be valid until all of them were withdrawn from the market. “The old notes will be accepted as official currency and will be used side by side with the new ones,” a SAMA statement said.
It said SAMA had completed the final phase of a process to replace the old notes with modified ones with enhanced security features. “SAMA urges the public to replace their old 500 and 100 Saudi riyal notes through SAMA offices and commercial bank branches all over the country,” the statement added.
Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf said last month that his ministry had decided to replace the old 500 and 100 notes with new ones in order to prevent forgery.
“The Council of Ministers has already approved security alterations to the two notes and the time has come for the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency to withdraw the notes gradually from the market,” he said. “Both the old and new notes will be accepted during the withdrawal period,” Al-Assaf explained. A bank official contacted by Arab News said banks would accept old notes and send them to head offices, which would hand them over to SAMA. He said the process of replacing the notes would take time.
The new SR500 notes with special security features went into circulation on March 24, 2003. They have a new watermark with a portrait of King Abdul Aziz when exposed to light. They also have four ornamental shapes in tactile intaglio printing which enable the blind to feel and detect the note’s value. Other features include a windowed security thread, optically variable foil (on which the national emblem and the note value appear dynamic when viewed from different angles) and optically variable ink that changes its color from green to blue when tilted. SAMA issued the modified SR100 notes on Oct. 11, 2003. An ornamental shape printed by optically variable ink that shifts gradually from gold to green when the note is tilted is the new SR100 bill’s important feature. A metallic windowed security thread 4 mm wide with the clear text of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency and the note value, 100, appear when the note is exposed to light. The note value watermark also appears when in light. The note has a portrait of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd that appears when exposed to light. Bold tactile intaglio printing scattered over the note adds a rough texture, harmonious colors and clear design.
SAMA expressed hopes that the new security features would enhance public confidence in the national currency and protect it from forgery.
