MANAMA, 16 March 2008 — The Central Bank of Bahrain, which has already received 300 million Bahraini dinars worth of all-new-look currency notes, will issue the first of the new currency through the monetary supply chain starting tomorrow, a senior official at the central bank said yesterday.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Saif, executive director banking operations, at the CBB told a Press conference that the CBB had new currency notes worth 300 million Bahraini dinars and the new notes contained security features. The CBB official dismissed speculations behind the CBB move to issue new notes and said that the issuance of new currency was in line with new law changing Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) into Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).
Bahrain as the regional financial centre, Dr. Saif said, has implemented the highest standards of transparency backed by a stringent regulatory regime making it impossible for counterfeit or money laundering businesses.
He added: “Bahrain has never witnessed any major operation of money laundering and obviously the new currency notes with six security features will minimize the chances of counterfeit money business. The latest security features used in new currency has made the Bahraini Dinars the first in the GCC to have those features including for the blind or brail users.”
He also announced that new Bahrain banknotes in all denominations will come into circulation from tomorrow.
The new banknotes are being issued in the existing denominations of 20, 10, 5, 1 and BD1/2. No change is being made to the coins in circulation.
The existing banknotes will remain a legal tender until further notice from the CBB. The new banknotes and the existing banknotes will co-circulate for a period of time, to allow for all existing banknotes to be returned to the CBB in the normal course of business. Earlier, the CBB began working with Bahrain’s retail banks to coordinate the process of introducing the new banknotes, to enable banks to prepare automated teller machines (ATMs) to begin dispensing the new banknotes from 12.01 a.m. tomorrow.
All five denominations of banknotes are of uniform size (measuring 154mm x 74mm), which is slightly larger than the existing banknotes.
“The change to the new currency was necessitated by the enactment of the Central Bank of Bahrain and Financial Institutions Law (CBB Law) in September 2006,” said Dr. Saif.
“The new currency reflects this significant change and each denomination of new banknotes bears the name of the Central Bank of Bahrain.”
He stressed that the existing currency will remain a legal tender for a period of time and until further notice from the CBB.
“People do not need to rush out and exchange existing currency for the new. The existing banknotes will continue to be accepted as money for at least one year, and they will remain redeemable by the CBB for a further period of time after being withdrawn from circulation,” he said.
“The new banknotes also incorporate enhancements to the security features, as well as some new features. This is designed to make the new currency easier to authenticate, harder to duplicate and more secure than ever before,” said Dr. Saif.
In addition to the security features, the new banknotes also incorporate, for the first time, a feature to enable the visually-impaired to easily recognize the value of each note. The feature comprises a series of short, raised lines, which appear at the top right on the front face of the note. The BD1/2 has one line; BD1 has two lines and so on, up to BD20, with five lines.
“The CBB has been working with Bahrain’s retail banks, money changers and other relevant Government and private organizations, to ensure a smooth and efficient changeover to the new banknotes,” said Dr. Saif.
A CBB helpline will also be activated tomorrow, to receive any inquiries regarding the new banknotes. The CBB helpline numbers are 17547700 and 17547707, 17547711 and 17547703.
