MONROVIA – 7 July 2020:The Central Bank of Liberia (“CBL”) is pleased to announce the arrival of additional LD4 Billion Liberian Dollar banknotes to ease the demand for currency, particularly during the upcoming July Independence celebrations.
The additional LD4 billion in banknotes were safely secured in the vaults of the CBL Headquarters on July 7, 2020. The CBL in collaboration with Kroll, will work over the coming days to undertake a full technical validation process of the new banknotes to ensure they comply with the contractual specifications.
The CBL received technical support for the acquisition of additional LD notes from Kroll Associates, Inc., a British Company specializing in fraud investigation and risk management, as part of a USAID (United States Agency for International Development) technical assistance program to the Central Bank of Liberia. This technical support ensured that the entire process surrounding the procurement, printing and delivery of the additional Liberian Dollar banknotes adheres to best practices. Kroll Associates, Inc., was also able to leverage its prior experience with the Central Bank of Liberia to ensure that previously identified loopholes in the currency procurement process were satisfactorily addressed.
CBL Executive Governor J. Aloysius Tarlue, Jr. said “the arrival of the additional Liberian Dollar banknotes is good news indeed. It will help ordinary Liberians to easily access their money from banks and other financial institutions to pay for school fees, hospital bills and pay for other important bills.”
The arrival of additional banknotes should not however change the way ordinary Liberians transact, as use of mobile payments has been encouraged as a part of advancing the technological progress in Liberia’s payments system. To this end, the recent suspension of fees during the COVID-19 pandemic also aims at encouraging the use of mobile payments through the various providers.
The CBL also continues to encourage depositors to use the formal banking system for savings and take advantage of the opportunities of earning interest on Liberian Dollars. To this end, the CBL has maintained appropriate monetary policy, using interest rates on CBL bills to provide a real return on Liberian Dollar assets and to bring inflation down.
The inflation of about 20.0 percent as at May 2020 declined from about 30.0 percent at its peak in August 2019. With the interest of 25.0 percent on CBL bills ― which can be purchased by banks and the public ― will continue to provide real return on Liberian Dollar assets, as the CBL remains committed to reducing inflation to 15.0 percent, or lower, by the end of 2020.