This archive report was first published on 23 September 2019.
With the October 1 deadline for the old Ksh.1000 note fast approaching, businesses in Kenya are increasingly rejecting the currency, citing difficulties in handling it.
According to reports, the US embassy was the first entity to officially segregate the old notes on September 12, and other enterprises have followed suit, breaking off from the acceptance of the old note in the days leading up to the September 30 deadline.
Businesses have attributed the early rejection of the old notes to a deliberate business risk mitigation in the face of the closing in termination.
"As of today, I can no longer accept the old notes as it is problematic. It would be possible to accept the old series note, but I can’t hand over the same to a customer," Joy Chepkorir, a mobile-money kiosk operator inside Nairobi’s Central Business District, told Citizen Digital on Monday.
Larger corporations have also followed a similar trend, with giant telco operator Safaricom advising customers on its intended severance of ties with the retiring Ksh.1000 note in all of its retail stores from September 27.
"Safaricom will not take old notes after September 26 to allow us bank in time. Please note that all Ksh.1000 notes must be submitted with the September 27 Cash in Transit (CIT) collections," the company noted in an operations memo seen by Citizen Digital at the end of last week.
However, the risk of panic in the majority of urban dwellings stands minimized as large cash handlers inform of minimal old series notes in circulation at this time.
"For every 100,000 notes, we are only getting five or ten units of the old series Ksh.1000 notes. We are still seeing the old notes, but a much lesser frequency," Stephen Macharia, a Chief Cashier at Tuskys, said.
However, the risk for deviant effects remains elevated in frontier counties who unlike their urban counterparts deal with a differentiated set of circumstances.
In the livestock rearing county of Mandera, residents have been hit hard by the demonetization order as neighboring Ethiopia and Somalia reject the use of the circulating old series Ksh.1000 notes, cutting off key food purchases.
While the majority of enterprises turn a blind eye on the acceptance of the old notes, commercial banks could represent the only hope to consumers as the lenders assure of the acceptance of the notes until the close of business on Monday, September 30.
"Walk-in customers will be allowed to transact in the old notes until the close of business on Monday, September 30," Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) Chief Executive Officer Habil Olaka said in a phone interview last week.
