The Billions CBK Will Use to Print New Bank Notes

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) will spend Ksh14 billion to print new currency notes through a German printing firm, G+D. 

CBK Governor told Parliament that the move to print new currency notes was informed by a pending shortage of bank notes that was realised mid last year. 

In mid-2023, CBK found that the country faced a potential shortage of currency banknotes, hence there was a need to print out new notes to replace those that are torn, worn out, or destroyed.

Kenyan bank notes have traditionally been printed along Thika Road, at a plant owned by De La Rue, in Ruaraka. The Kenyan government has a 40% share in De La Rue Kenya - which closed down in 2023- citing an unfriendly business environment. 

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The CBK Governor added that the new notes would now be printed by a German printing firm.

“The (Ruaraka) plant was owned by De La Rue, with the government of Kenya, through the National Treasury, acquiring a 40 percent stake in De La Rue Kenya EPZ Limited, in 2017. This company printed the 2019 series of Kenyan banknotes until January 2023,” he said.

The CBK defended the decision to award the contract to a company where the government does not have shareholding, noting that the average cost of printing 1,000 pieces of banknotes had increased by 11% from the amount paid to De La Rue in 2019. 

“We have looked at the cost per 1,000 pieces of banknotes in the old and the new contract. There is an increase of cost of about 11%,” Dr Thugge said. 

According to Paul Wanyeki, Director of Currency at CBK, over the next first years, Kenya will receive: 

• 690 million Ksh100 banknotes 
• 460 million Ksh50 banknotes
• 260 million Ksh200 notes
• 170 million Ksh500 notes
• 460 million Ksh1,000 notes  

In total, Kenya will receive 2.04 billion notes of various denominations over the next five years, an average of 400 million notes every year. 

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