SBP Starts New Currency Note Process, Design Competition Announced

The process of creating and releasing a New Banknotes Series comprising all current denominations has been started by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). In order to maintain the integrity of banknotes and keep them up to date with technical advancements in security features and design, central banks have a long-standing policy of introducing new banknote series every fifteen to twenty years.

The SBP is holding an art competition to provide creative and theme-based design concepts for the new banknote series as part of the preliminary design phase. By March 11th, 2024, local designers, artists, and art students can submit their concepts to SBP. There will be cash awards given to the top three designs in each of the current seven denominations.

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Reputable professional banknote designers will be given access to the design concepts and themes that were decided upon following the art competition. They will then be chosen in a competitive procedure to create the final printable designs for each denomination.

The Federal Government will be consulted for approval of the final designs. A new banknote series’ issuance process entails a number of procedures and stages, including careful planning and cooperation amongst numerous parties. A new banknote series typically takes two to three years to introduce; however, the SBP hopes to finish the process in the next two years.

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Even when new series of banknotes are issued, the current series will still be in use. After the new banknotes are released and sufficiently in circulation, any decision to remove the current series from circulation will be made gradually and phased in.