New banknotes going into circulation on Monday

Barbados’ new banknotes will go into circulation on Monday, 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,” she added.

Gibson also confirmed that Barbadians would 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,” she stated.

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