Egypt to Introduce Plastic Money by 2020

By: Taarek Refaat

CAIRO, Mar.12 (SEE)- As far as the ancient Egyptian dynasties, citizens have written their stories, life events, and history on temples' walls, monuments, and papyrus.

Today, Some Egyptians still record their stories and memories on paper currencies, while others wash and iron the pound to make it appear clean and new.

Some make advertisements for their stores on the currency, and others write congratulatory notes for graduating students or the arrival of newborns. Lovers also draw hearts, write "Together Forever" and dates of their first meeting on the pound.

The central bank of Egypt (CBE) has issued several notices, to all banks, to reject any currency including drawings or writings. However, these currencies remained circulated among the public until it became dirty, out-worn, ready to be executed and replaced by new ones.

Paper currencies raw material are usually a blend of cotton and linen, 75 percent and 25 percent respectively.

Research suggests that paper money can be a shelter for thousands of microbes, which move from everything it touches to the banknote.

"The average annual printing volume of Egyptian paper money in different categories is about EGP 20 billion pounds," economic expert Mohamed Shafik said, adding that the disposal process occurs rapidly and earlier than anticipated due to the ill-treatment of bank notes.

Financial analyst Nady Azzam called for an awareness campaign concerning the risks of writing on the currency and its economic disadvantages, primarily in light of the low purchasing value of small currencies such as pound, half a pound and one-quarter pound.

He pointed out that the central bank intends to issue plastic money "Polymer banknotes" to replace the current one in the year 2020. The new banknotes will be printed in the New Administrative Capital's printing facilities.

Polymer banknotes were first issued by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in 1988. Other countries also switched to polymer banknotes including Canada, New Zealand, Romania, Vietnam, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Chile, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Armenia. Egypt is expected to introduce the newer version of polymer banknotes the next year. The newer version is waterproof, hard to set on fire, and difficult to rip up.

In order to reduce the cost of production of printing, CBE will start with the category of EGP 10 to maintain the quality, cleanliness of money and extend its duration usage.

A report by the Central Bank revealed that the volume of coins traded in the Egyptian market rose to EGP 445 million by the end of May 2018, compared to EGP 437 million a month earlier, an increase of about EGP 8 million.

Although the cost of issuing paper currency is much lower than coins, the latter life duration is between 15 and 30 years, depending on the materials assembled in the manufacturing process, which can vary between copper, nickel, aluminum, steel, and zinc.