Here is why Kenyan bank notes is set to look and feel different in a few weeks time

Kenyan bank notes is set to look and feel different over the next few weeks.

De La Rue, which mints Kenyan currency at its factory in Ruaraka, Nairobi, has announced it will be giving Kenyan bank notes a new coat of varnish to reduce wear and tear and prolong their life in circulation.

The British printer said it was adding the fresh coat which will see paper money stay longer before getting defaced.

“A new varnishing line which makes finished bank notes more durable has been added to the Kenya factory, providing more operational flexibility in line with other sites,” De La Rue said in its latest trading update.

Cases of bank notes being defaced or damaged due to poor handling have been on the rise in recent years, an issue Central Bank of Kenya didn’t take kindly and saw the regulator issue regulations that provide a jail terms of up to three years or a fine of Sh500,000 to those who mishandle notes and coins.

Early this year, the British firm announced it was pumping Sh286 million in the expansion of its Ruaraka facility.

The new bank notes comes even as the country’s planned switch to new generation bank notes in compliance with the 2010 Constitution has delayed following court fights over the Sh10 billion-a-year tender.

The Supreme law requires removal of images of personalities from the notes and replaced with the country’s landmark features.

On January 8, the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) terminated the De La Rue contract for new look cash, saying that the CBK had awarded it unlawfully.