In Other News…

• The Central Bank of Iran has unveiled the designs of three new banknotes as part of the transition of Iran’s currency from the rial to the toman.

Under the changes, four zeroes will be knocked off the rial and it will be renamed.

The new notes are in denominations of 1, 2 and 5 tomans (equivalent to 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 rials) and will go into circulation in the next few months. The design themes and overall colour of the existing notes will be retained, but all the new notes will be issued in the same size and format.

Late last year, the Bank issued a new 100,000 rial note, in which the first two numerals (10) are in bold, and the other zeroes in a lighter colour to acclimatise the public to its eventual transition to a 10 toman note.

• The Bank of Botswana has issued a new 10 pula polymer banknote, featuring a portrait of the fifth and current President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, in place of his predecessor, President Seretse Khama Ian Khama.

The note has been printed on De La Rue’s SAFEGUARD by Oberthur Fiduciaire, with an additional protective layer in the form of its BIOGUARD ENHANCE™ anti-bacterial and anti-viral post-print varnish.

• Da Afghanistan Bank has taken delivery of new notes printed on durable substrates from PWPW. The Polish papermaker and printer won the contract in 2020 for the production of the 10, 20, 50 and 100 afghanis. The lower two denominations are produced on Fortis™Pro, a pre-coated substrate with an anti-soiling barrier against dirt and pollution, while the higher two denominations have added protection with PWPW’s Coat4Note® post-print varnish.