The Central Bank of Kenya has issued a new directive on the exchange of old currencies to new ones.
As the deadline of the phase out of the old One Thousand Notes nears, Central Bank of Kenya through Governor Patrick Njoroge has taken a softer stand to make sure that no ones remains with old notes.
During a press release the CBK Governor stated that those who wish to make bulk exchange of money more than Five Million Shillings should first seek endorsement from the CBK who will then approve the transaction.
“ Those with bulk exchanges (more than Ksh.5M) will need to get in touch with CBK, get the endorsement and then the conversion can be done,” stated Patrick Njoroge.
Patrick Njoroge on the process of exchanging old notes to the new banknotes:
Those with bulk exchanges (more than Ksh.5M) will need to get in touch with CBK, get the endorsement and then the conversion can be done pic.twitter.com/g6KEEF0F7y— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) June 20, 2019
However Njoroge has stated the process of exchanging the money is risk based and it is meant to maintain the value of our currency;
“The whole process is risk-based and it is intended to maintain the security of the transaction,” stated Njoroge.
Patrick Njoroge on the process of exchanging old notes to the new banknotes: The whole process is risk-based and it is intended to maintain the security of the transaction pic.twitter.com/k75FQvVxlO
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) June 20, 2019
Those who are willing to exchange notes less than 1 Million have been advised to visit their commercial banks to get it done.
Patrick Njoroge on the process of exchanging old notes to the new banknotes: The whole process is risk-based and it is intended to maintain the security of the transaction pic.twitter.com/k75FQvVxlO
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) June 20, 2019
The exchange of money has been characterized with a lot of controversy. The US embassy just few days ago announced that it will not accept old Kenyan notes.However, the Embassy revoked that order after consultation.
UPDATE: After coordination w/@CBKKenya, we have been provided with equipment upgrades & training necessary to accept the new Kenyan currency. We now accept the new currency as well as the legacy currency valid until Oct 1. You may also continue to pay for services by credit card. pic.twitter.com/HSr0BdlLRk
— U.S. Embassy Nairobi (@USEmbassyKenya) June 18, 2019
During the launch, CBK Governor Prof Patrick Njoroge said Kenyans have until October 31 to exchange any Sh1000 notes which will thereafter cease being a legal tender.
However, the governor said that the Sh50, Sh100, Sh200 and Sh500 notes will be phased out slowly.
Last week, Uganda and Tanzania suspended the use of the Kenyan currency in an effort to shield its banks from being used to launder stolen money back into Kenya.