Bank of Ghana to launch Heritage Series cedi notes on 3 November as old notes stay valid

Pinned summary · as of 06:02

The Bank of Ghana will bring in a redesigned set of cedi banknotes, called the Heritage Series, with an official launch fixed for 3 November 2026 at Bank Square in Accra. Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama unveiled the plan at the Monetary Policy Committee press conference on Thursday, 24 September. Notes now in people's wallets remain usable, so nobody has to queue at a bank to swap them.

What we know

• The Bank of Ghana plans an upgraded family of cedi notes named the Heritage Series, to be launched officially on 3 November 2026 at Bank Square in Accra.
• Dr Asiama made the announcement on Thursday, 24 September, in Accra at the central bank's 132nd Monetary Policy Committee press conference.
• The new notes are meant to be harder to counterfeit and to last longer in circulation. Their designs are to reflect Ghana's heritage, culture and national heroes, and the series carries a theme about a secure cedi built to last.
• Dr Asiama said the change was needed because the core note designs have been in use for over 20 years while technology and security standards have moved on. “The rapid modernisation of our banknotes is, therefore, imperative,” he said.
• Current banknotes stay legal tender and will circulate alongside the Heritage Series. The central bank and the Governor have told the public not to hurry to exchange or withdraw the notes they hold.
• The series covers the existing eight denominations, from GH₵1 to GH₵200.
• Dominic Owusu, who heads currency management at the Bank of Ghana, described the exercise as an upgrade of notes already in use and ruled out any higher denomination such as GH₵500. He asked the public to disregard social media talk to the contrary.
• Dr Asiama again asked businesses, traders and financial institutions to treat cash gently. He named crumpling, writing on notes, stapling them, money bouquets and spraying cash at events as habits to drop, saying good handling keeps notes in better condition and cuts replacement costs.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  The Ghana Report quotes Mr Owusu as saying the notes will stay cotton-based rather than switch to polymer, because of Ghana's warm and humid weather, with the fibre strengthened to last longer. No other report carries this.
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  Asked by Onua Online about the cost of the rollout, Dr Asiama said the Bank had budgeted for it and would show it in its 2026 audited accounts. No figure was given, and no other report includes the exchange.
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  The Ghana Report says the Bank of Ghana will run public education on the new notes' security features and how to authenticate them once they enter circulation. This rests on one report.
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  The Vaultz News reports that President John Dramani Mahama said in August that the central bank was preparing a currency update, with details to come from the Bank. No other publication carries it.
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  Onua Online reports that the policy rate was held at 14% in a unanimous decision of the Monetary Policy Committee, and that Dr Asiama put August inflation at 5 per cent, below the 8±2 per cent target band. It also reports the Governor saying the banking sector stayed solvent, with the non-performing loan ratio at 15.7 per cent. These figures appear in one report only.
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  Rainbow Radio Online, citing Bank of Ghana data, reports that gross reserves slid to $11.07 billion by the close of August 2026 from $12.94 billion in June, and that import cover dropped from 5.7 months to 4.2 months. Dr Asiama is quoted naming shrinking reserves and a pause in gold exports by GoldBod as risks to external stability. Other reports do not carry these figures.
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  The Vaultz News reports that Dr Asiama said importers can pay for Chinese goods with cedis through Stanbic Bank, with GCB Bank working on a similar route. The report says the payment reaches China in renminbi and does not remove the need for foreign exchange. The Publisher Online repeats the account, so it has not been independently checked.

Why it matters for Ghana

Cedi notes change hands daily in markets, trotros and chop bars across Ghana, so any redesign touches almost every household and trader. Because the old notes stay valid, nobody has to rush to a bank, and the caution against a GH₵500 note answers talk that had been spreading online. Better protection against fakes and longer-lasting notes could mean less loss for small traders who handle a lot of cash, while the Governor's call to stop spraying and stapling cash speaks directly to habits at events and in shops.