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On Thursday May 4, South Africans will start encountering cash in new forms as the Reserve Bank’s new design money is released on the market.The 'Our Money Our Pride’ launch of the upgraded currency took place on Wednesday afternoon at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton, Johannesburg, and was attended by Reserve Bank officials, Mandela Foundation dignitaries, Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago and deputy finance minister David Masondo.
The new designs will be released in the same denominations, and the size and paper of the banknotes remain unchanged. However, the colours have been subtly enhanced to cater for partially sighted communities.
“And don’t think you can keep your old banknotes as collectors items and then try to sell it back to us in a few years for a higher price,” he joked, as he encouraged people to engage with the new notes and coins and to become familiar with them.Changes to the upgraded banknotes and coin are available on the SARB website and the SARB Currency App, now available on the Apple iStore and the Google Play Store.