No mad rush in banks on the last day of old Sh1,000 note

It was business as usual for many banks and currency dealers Monday as the old Sh1,000 ‘elephant’ note ceased to be legal tender after 25 years in the market.

The note, which was introduced in 1994 by the Moi government and got its nickname for the elephant image at its back, was removed from circulation in in a four-month demonetisation process that ended on Monday.

A visit to six banks in Nairobi and several forex dealers showed that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Bank officials said there was no rush to beat the deadline, with only a small increase in the number of customers asking to convert their cash on the last day noticed.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) will give an official update on the demonetisation on Wednesday, including how much of the Sh217 billion will have been returned.

The CBK said in an earlier briefing that it had pulled all stops to ensure that all Kenyans with the old notes were reached and made to return them to avoid being left with worthless souvenirs from today.

It also reached out to the Judiciary to ensure that any currency kept in the courts system as exhibits has been converted, after the necessary procedures.

Monday marked Kenya’s biggest currency clean-up after independence.

The CBK introduced a new series of the of Sh500 and Sh1,000 notes in 1998, four years after they were launched. The first issue of notes were in the denominations of Sh5, Sh10, Sh20, Sh50 and Sh100.

All of these had the portrait of Kenya’s founding president, Jomo Kenyatta, in the front, and diverse scenes of economic activities in Kenya at the back.

These notes were the first to use the double title of Banki Kuu ya Kenya and Central Bank of Kenya.

On April 10, 1967, new Kenya shilling coins were issued in the denominations of 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents and Sh1.