Environment, Cost and Social Responsibility at Heart of New Eastern Caribbean Series

This March, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) issued its new $5 polymer banknote into circulation, completing the transition of the Eastern Caribbean dollar to De La Rue’s SAFEGUARD® polymer that began in 2019. According to the ECCB, the reasons for the transition were threefold – the environment, cost, and security.

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) was established in October 1983 as the monetary authority for a group of eight islands, all members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union – Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Between them, the member islands comprise an archipelago, stretching in an arc from Puerto Rico in the north to Grenada in the south, and have a combined population of 630,000 and landmass of over 3,000 km².