The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has initiated the process for designing and issuing of new banknotes series of all existing denominations.
The SBP, in a statement released on Tuesday, said the process of issuance of new banknote series involves several steps and stages and thus, requires meticulous planning and coordination amongst multiple stakeholders.
“Generally, it takes 2-3 years to launch a new banknote series, however, the SBP intends to complete the process within the next two years,” read the statement.
The central bank shared that as part of the initial process of designing the new banknote series, the SBP is organizing an art competition for the new banknote series.
SBP said the design ideas and themes finalised after the art competition will be shared with the reputed professional banknote designers to be selected through a competitive process for developing the final printable designs for each denomination.
The final designs will be submitted to the federal government for approval.
SBP said that the current banknote series will remain in circulation even after the issuance of new series.
“Any decision on withdrawal of the existing series from circulation will be taken in a gradual and phased manner, once the new banknotes are issued and are in circulation in sufficient quantities,” it said.
The central bank shared that it is an established practice of central banks to introduce new banknote series after every 15-20 years to secure the integrity of banknotes and align them with the latest technological developments in the banknotes design and security features.