The Bank of Mozambique (BdM) acknowledged on Wednesday, February 4, the existence of metical banknotes in circulation whose serial numbers fade easily. Despite this anomaly, the central bank assured that the banknotes are genuine and remain legal tender, while urging their replacement through banking institutions.
In a statement accessed by DE, the BdM clarified that “after forensic testing, it was found that the banknotes are genuine, but unsuitable for circulation,” stressing the need to exchange them to ensure the integrity of the currency in circulation.
The central bank’s position follows the dissemination of videos on social media in which citizens show that it is possible to easily scrape off the serial numbers on some banknotes—especially 50-metical notes—recently withdrawn from banking institutions. The notes in question belong to the series introduced in 2024.
Despite the identified problem, the BdM guaranteed that these banknotes retain “legal tender status” and should, however, “be exchanged free of charge at the counters of credit institutions authorized to operate in the country.”
“In this context, citizens who have metical banknotes showing the absence of serial numbers are urged to go to a banking institution, where they may have them replaced,” the statement reads.
According to official data, in 2024 the BdM spent more than 3.5 billion meticais (46.9 million euros) on the production of banknotes and coins. This amount compares with nearly 3.3 billion meticais (44 million euros) spent in 2023.
According to the central bank, this expenditure is amortized “against results over a period of three to five years, respectively, counting from the date of issuance.”
On June 16, 2024, the central bank introduced a new series of metical banknotes and coins, with the aim of progressively replacing the series in circulation since 2006. At the time, the BdM stated that the revision sought to strengthen the security mechanisms of fiduciary money.
According to the BdM governor, Rogério Zandamela, “central banks tend to revise their banknotes and coins in circulation every five years,” adding that the 2024 series maintains six banknotes and introduces adjustments to the coins, while preserving “the tradition of highlighting the values of our cultural, historical, and wildlife heritage.”
