This archive report was first published on 25 September 2019.
With less than a week to go before the September 30 deadline for converting old Sh1000 notes, Kenyans are still holding onto a significant amount of the currency.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya, as of September 1st, they had received 116 million pieces of the old currency notes, leaving 101 million pieces to be converted.
CBK governor Patrick Njoroge noted that 91 percent of the currency collected by September 1 was less than Sh2 million, with 58 percent of currency exchanged in value terms being less than Sh500,000 and 75 percent of currency being less than Sh1 million.
Notably, 53 percent of the total money converted so far was done in July, with only 24 transactions above Sh2 million, averaging Sh3.1 million per transaction.
Mr. Njoroge also pointed out that Tanzania and Uganda have already completed the conversion of old Sh1,000 notes.
Regarding businesses setting early deadlines for the conversion, the governor stated, “I can’t tell whether it is legal or not. Businesses have their own way of complying to the set deadline,”
