KIGALI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The National Bank of Rwanda on Thursday announced that redesigned banknotes of 500 and 1,000 Rwandan francs are expected to go into circulation next week.
The 500 francs paper money is brown in color, different from the current blue, while the 1,000 note retains its blue color, the central bank's governor John Rwangombwa said at a news briefing in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda.
Bearing Rwandan cultural insignia, the notes were redesigned with enhanced security features to beat counterfeiters, said Rwangombwa.
The old notes were worn out but will continue to be used alongside the new ones in cash transactions for the next three years until the old notes are out of circulation, he added.
The new notes will be printed by a German company and the printing will cost the government 1.6 billion Rwandan francs (roughly 1.76 million U.S. dollars) annually in the next three years.
