Kenyans yet to understand demonetisation

By Lewis Njoka.

Kenyans are concerned about how to tell genuine new currency notes from fake ones, Jamii Bora Bank customer service manager Linah Njogu has said.

Njogu said although customers have responded well to Central Bank’s call to exchange the old Sh1,000 notes for new ones, many still visit banks seeking clarification on whether other denominations would be affected.

Njogu was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of Jamii Bora Bank’s second Customer Focus Week, a quarterly event that seeks to celebrate customers, get feedback from them and differentiate the bank from other similar institutions.

“To bridge the information gap, we will spend the next five days enlightening our customers and the general public on the features of the new currency as part of our customer focus week activities,” said Njogu.

“Even non-customers are welcome,” she added.

The event, running from July 8 to 12 will focus on a single denomination every day and have a theme in line with note’s theme.

For instance, if the bank is focusing on the Sh50 note, the theme for the day will be green energy.

During this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations, CBK governor Patrick Njoroge announced that all the old Sh1,000 notes would be demonetised as at October 1 as a measure to curb corruption, counterfeiting and illicit financial flows, a move that has seen scores of Kenyans visit banks to exchange them for new ones.