The South African Reserve Bank has advised people who still have any of the withdrawn Big Five R200 banknotes that these can be exchanged at its office in central Johannesburg.
This is at the SARB Johannesburg Cash Centre in Newtown. The teller operates on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am to 1pm, offering direct cash-for-cash exchange.
The old series bank notes were withdrawn because some "relatively high-quality counterfeit notes had illegally come into circulation" in 2010, the bank said in a statement. The SARB and commercial banks withdrew them from circulation. The public could exchange their banknotes at commercial banks until the end of May 2010.
They can be identified by their lack of security features.
The SARB urged South Africans to “look, feel and tilt” their banknotes to confirm authenticity.
“The public is encouraged to re-familiarise themselves with the security features on banknotes and to examine them on receipt. Do not hesitate or feel embarrassed about holding a banknote up to the light.”
Key features to check include:
- special paper feel and distinct crackling sound;
- watermark and perfect registration when held up to light;
- windowed security thread with holographic coat of arms (R50, R100, R200);
- optically variable ink that changes colour when tilted;
- raised diamond shapes for the visually impaired; and
- unique numbering, micro-lettering and iridescent bands.
The R200 banknotes of the upgraded series bearing the signatures of former governors Tito Mboweni and Gill Marcus are not affected by the counterfeit problem. These banknotes remain in circulation.
Editor's Note: This article has been amended to reflect that this public service notice is about notes that were withdrawn in 2010. There is no link to any current fraudulent activity.
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