In one week, the brand new currency notes will go into circulation. As we've been reporting, the design of the bills have been changed completely to align more closely with modern standards. The security features have also been enhanced - and the material has been changed- the bills will no longer be made of paper, but of polymer. But perhaps the change everyone is going to be talking about is the removal of the Queen's image, which has been replaced with George Price and Phillip Goldson.
The bills were designed by De La Rue International and back in May, the Central Bank held a "know your money" session where all the new features were explained. However, the regional director, Gareth Evans, also responded to some of the early commentary that was made regarding the look of the money. Here's a snippet from that session.
Gareth Evans, Regional Director, Carib., De La Rue International:
"What I will say and I'm aware of some of the chatter on social media and the comments in the room earlier that straight away it looks like the peso. It really doesn't when you get the notes in your hand, you will see that it doesn't these notes are uniquely Belizean and it's very difficult to get a true reflection of the notes from when you see them on a screen, when you see them in a newspaper or when you see them on a banner or in a montage like they are on the screen behind me. I completely understand why people at the first glance when they see them on the screen will say that they look like, some of the social media comments, pesos, Monopoly money, things like that. And I will explain to you why, it's predominantly down to the use of color. Modern bank notes use color and you're just not used to seeing the bank notes in that guise."
"Bank notes are an incredibly technical product. It is a product that has to go out into circulation, it has to change hands hundreds of thousands of times, it has last, it has to be secure, it has to be beautiful. A banknote is the business card of a country some people say. You want it to represent you, Central Bank wants it to represent Belize. The bank notes are full of national icons and imagery which you would not have seen as yet until you get them in your hand."
And while the bills will have a new look, as the Central Bank has been stressing, the value will remain unchanged. And what happens to your old notes? You can still continue using them freely. But when the old banknotes are deposited at financial institutions, they will be sent to the Central Bank and replaced with the new series. This transition is expected to take several years
