[UPDATED] New Qatari Riyal banknotes to be available starting December 18; QR 200 banknote introduced

Share it!

Discuss here!

New-qatari-riyal-banknotes-december-18-2020-qatar-central-bank

In a press conference Sunday, December 13, the Qatar Central Bank announced the fifth issue of the national currency which will begin circulation on Friday, December 18th (Qatar National Day) through ATMs starting 12:01 am (00:01).

According to QCB officials, the fifth edition contains more than 62 security features and many other specifications. A new cash category worth 200 riyals was also unveiled, which will bridge the gap between the 100 riyals and 500 riyal banknote.

In the first stage, 8 billion riyals of the new issue will be pumped, provided that the pumping will be completed at the end of January 2021, bringing the total money to 20 billion Qatari riyals from the new fifth issue. QCB pointed out that it is the same amount offered in the fourth issue.

Design highlights and security features of the 5th issue of Qatari Riyals:

At the press conference, Executive Director of the Public Debt, Banking Affairs and Issuance at QCB Mohamed Jassim Al Kuwari outlined security and technical characteristics of each category according to their respective value, starting from 38 specifications up to 64, adding that the State of Qatar is one of the first countries to develop these technical specifications, which their number is 64 international specifications for the large categories, whose colors have been chosen with great precision, a matter which contributes to easily differentiate each category from the other and will help certain societal segments (visually impaired and the elderly). He also reviewed the stages of currency printing.

He pointed out that each of these categories has an aesthetic painting from Qatar's environment and heritage, and reflects Qatar's sovereignty in decision-making, as well as reflects heritage, economy, health and sports, adding that all categories have these elements.

Al Kuwari said that what distinguishes these banknotes is the beauty of calligraphy as the State of Qatar is the second in the world after Britain in this regard, and it is also the first in the Middle East in terms of the holographic security threads in the category of QR 500 notes. He highlighted the stages of launching the new issue of the Qatari banknotes, starting with their distribution to banks in preparation for making them available in ATMs.

He pointed out that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 was not overlooked, as one of the categories of the new issue included stadiums for the tournament, and that the QCB has a huge project for the 2022 World Cup-related to the issuance of commemorative coins, where designs and models are now being done.

What will happen to the fourth issue of Qatari Riyals?

According to Qatar Central Bank, pursuant to the provisions of Articles (54 and 55) of the Qatar Central Bank Law and Regulation of Financial Institutions promulgated by Law No. (13) of 2012, it has been decided to withdraw banknotes from the fourth edition of circulation within a period of 90 days from the date of the new offering of the fifth issue on 12/18/2020.

The banknotes of the fourth issue will become illegal and indemnified currency as of Friday 19/03/2021 with the holder's right to recover its value from the Central Bank within a period not exceeding 10 years after that date.

Qatar Central Bank takes this opportunity to remind the honorable public of the importance of preserving the national currency and not tampering with it, whether by writing, perforating, or otherwise, noting that these actions are criminalized by the provisions of Article 56 of the aforementioned Qatar Central Bank Law.

Release of the new Qatari Riyals banknotes

For his part, Director of the Issuance Department at Qatar Central Bank Khaled Abdullah Al Kuwari spoke of the mechanism for distributing banknotes to banks and then to the public, explaining that banks have been contacted in this regard for the process of pumping banknotes into them until December 18.

During the press conference, he pointed out that in conjunction with the fifth issue, a new system had been put in place to track banknotes. He added that this system is based on a database linked to trading and with banks, indicating that it is a special database for the QCB that would facilitate the process of tracking banknotes with their serial numbers, as well as helping to know their validity and spoilage cycle, and their continuity in the markets and making future statistics for printing new ones.