The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, has said the introduction of the GHS100 and GHS200 higher denomination notes will “complement the existing series to ensure customer convenience and bring about efficiency in the printing of currency to generate savings for the country.”

The new notes became legal tender on Friday, 29 November 2019. Additionally, a GHS2 coin was introduced.

Dr Addison said: “A lot of thinking went into the decision to introduce the higher denomination banknotes. The structure of the banknote should align well with the needs of the people who use it for their daily transactions. We need banknotes and coins that are convenient for most people to use, high quality, secure and cost-effective”.

“Accordingly, in March 2017, the Bank of Ghana began a process of conducting a thorough review of the structure of the currency including on the note/coin boundary and acceptability and use of the individual currency series. The review exercise which involved conducting a nationwide survey with market operatives, businesses and international stakeholders as well as some empirical exercise.

“The outcome of these exercises revealed the resurgence of deadweight burden issues on the economy due to past significant inflation and perennial depreciation of the currency, a significant increase in the demand for higher denomination banknote and increased cost of printing”, he noted.

The purpose is to “complement the existing series to ensure customer convenience and bring about efficiency in the printing of currency to generate savings for the country.”