By: Natasha Archary
The upgraded South African banknotes and coins which will be in circulation in May 2023, is causing quite a stir with mixed opinions over the look and feel of the new notes.
Each new note has security features which include watermarks which will differentiate a fake note from the real thing.
While the notes still feature former President Nelson Mandela, the addition of the “Big 5”, pictured on the notes, is causing some contention with a number of people.
“It looks like the Big 5 grew up and had babies! What is it the need to have a lion there with a cub?”
Kaya Drive presenter Sizwe Dhlomo asked listeners whether they cared what the new notes look like, or do they just move on with life as long as the value of each note remains the same.
Some listeners expressed strong views that the upgraded notes look “cheap and fake”, with one pointing out that the notes look like currency from another third world country.
Changes to the new banknotes includes not-so-subtle changes to the colours of each note.
The R20 banknote for example will now be a more visible brown, compared to the previous “orange” hue that had become familiar with South Africans.
In addition, the R50 banknote is no longer red, but purple now.
This is the bank’s first major upgrade to the South African currency since 2012, when Mandela’s portrait was first introduced on the banknotes.
The central banks around the world upgrades their currency every few years to protect against counterfeiting.
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Drive:
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