Bank of Ghana says local firms lack the capacity to print currency notes

He said that this means the BoG will continue to print Ghana’s currency notes from proven and trusted international companies.

This is coming after the BoG revealed that the newly introduced GH¢200 and GH¢100 banknotes were printed by a currency and security printing company in the United States of America (USA), Crane Currency.

This is the second time Crane Currency has won a bid to design and print currency notes for the BoG.

In an interview with Accra-based Citi FM, Mr Gyamfi said a Ghanaian company could not win such a bid anytime soon due to the level of investment and track record required in the business.

“For these types of jobs, you need the companies with the proven track record. Unfortunately, the kind of investment you need to carry out these types of jobs is not present in the country at the moment. So, for now, such companies are not available in Ghana. I think in the foreseeable future we’ll continue to rely on those foreign companies that have met all the international standards.”

Bank of Ghana introduces GH¢100, GH¢200 notes and GH¢2 coin

The Bank of Ghana has introduced GH¢100 and GH¢200 notes to the country’s currency denomination mix.

This was announced by the Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Ernest Addison at a press conference in Accra on Friday.

Dr Addison said “a lot of thinking went into the decision to introduce the higher denomination banknotes. The structure of the banknote should align well with the needs of the people who use it for their daily transactions. We need banknotes and coins that are convenient for most people to use, high quality, secure and cost effective.”

“Accordingly, in March 2017, the Bank of Ghana begun a process of conducting a thorough review of the structure of the currency including on the note/coin boundary and acceptability and use of the individual currency series. The review exercise which involved conducting a nationwide survey with market operatives, businesses, and international stakeholders as well as some empirical exercise. The outcome of these exercises revealed the resurgence of deadweight burden issues on the economy due to past significant inflation and perennial depreciation of the currency, significant increase in the demand for higher denomination banknote and increased cost of printing.”

He added that “in line with the results of the exercise, the Bank of Ghana is introducing a new GH¢2 coin, and GH¢100 and GH¢200 banknotes denominations into circulation to complement the existing series to ensure customer convenience and bring about efficiency in the printing of currency to generate savings for the country.”