The new Jamaican banknotes will cost the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) over one billion Jamaican dollars to print.
This was disclosed by the BOJ in a recent press release. The island’s central bank said over the last three years, it has spent approximately US$7 million per annum (over JM$1 billion) to print banknotes.
While the bank said it could not disclose the exact cost to print the new bills, it noted that it will be significantly higher than current costs.
“For the upgraded banknotes, the cost will initially be higher, given the significantly larger quantities to be ordered as the redesigned notes will fully replace the current notes over time — the new substrate, polymer that will be used; enhanced security features to combat counterfeiting; and the new designs for each denomination,” said the BOJ.
“However, the polymer substrate used will result in cost savings for the Bank over time as the average useful life of the banknotes will increase by at least 50 percent thereby enabling the Bank to order less banknotes and at a lower frequency in the future,” they added.
In March, Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke unveiled a redesigned line of banknotes for the country, which will be released into circulation later this year.
Former Prime Ministers Hugh Shearer and Donald Sangster will grace the upgraded 5,000-dollar note. At the same time, national heroes, founding fathers, and cousins Norman Manley and Sir Alexander Bustamante will be the highlight of the upgraded 1000-dollar banknote. National heroes Sam Sharpe and Nanny of the Maroons will share the upgraded 500-dollar note, and national heroes Paul Bogle and George William Gordon will appear together on the upgraded 50-dollar note. Jamaica’s first national hero, Marcus Garvey, will appear alone on the upgraded 100-dollar banknote.
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