The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago has announced that it will be introducing a new polymer $50 banknote in December 2014.
This is the first polymer note to be issued by the Bank, which it says will help make the note not only more durable but more secure too, utilising its “leading edge security features” to counteract the threat of counterfeiters.
The design of the new $50 banknote will incorporate national symbols and reflect “the beauty of our people and the diversity of our flora”.
The existing $50 note, issued in 2012 to commemorate the country’s 50th Independence anniversary, uses green shades in its design which has been difficult for cash handlers and the public to distinguish from the similarly coloured $5 circulating note. The new note, however, will be gold in colour, helping to eliminate the confusion.
The Bank has stated that the existing $50 banknote has had limited public acceptance due to an initial lack of preparation by commercial banks and retailers to accommodate the new note – due to its issuance without consultation with key stakeholders. It also feels that the public believe it to be a “special” note which is being collected rather than used in transactions.
In spite of this, the Bank has found a “strong and compelling economic case” to have $50 banknotes in circulation, due to the current $100 and $20 notes being overused as both a store of wealth and a transactional note. This, it says, results in Trinidad and Tobago being ranked at “number one among central banks for having the highest banknotes per capita in the world”.
The Bank has created an educational poster for the public on how to handle polymer notes, see here.
