Luke Forau: Launch of the new $5 polymer banknote
Speech by Mr Luke Forau, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Solomon Islands, at the
Launch of the new $5 polymer banknote, Honiara, 2 May 2019.
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Salutation
Permanent Secretary (Ag), Ministry of Finance and Treasury,
Representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, Industries, Labor and Immigration
Representatives from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
CBSI Board of Directors
CEOs and country managers from the banking industry.
Our business partners from Note Printing Australia and CCL - NPA's CEO Mr. Malcolm
McDowell and Mr Nuwan Kalpage, and from PolyTeQ, Mr. Brian Lang.
Representatives from the media
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A very good morning and warm welcome to you all!
It's an honour to have you here with us this morning, to witness the launch of the country's new
polymer $5 banknote.
As you may have already probably aware, the new polymer $5 note was unveiled recently at the
International Currency Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was a fitting occasion given
the presence of important global players in the Cash Cycle - from the note printers, ink suppliers,
manufacturers of security features, suppliers of printing machines, suppliers of polymer
substrates to the Note Issuing Authorities that included the Central Banks and Treasuries.
But, at the Currency Conference, what seemed to be a topical issue was the general trend to
move towards a cashless society, or rather a less cash society. Discussions have been centred
on the advent of modern technology which have facilitated seamless transfer of value between
senders and receivers that seems to have now overtaken cash as a payment instrument.
Importantly, the rise of modern payment platforms such as the use of blockchain technology and
cryptcurrency are topical discussions in the payment industry nowadays. These new payment
solutions promise efficient, secure, and robust payments transactions. Indeed, the payment
landscape is changing.
Time of Change
While these modern payment platform changes are inevitably increasing for the advanced
payment ecosystems, the payment landscape in Solomon Islands is predominantly evolves
around cash as the major payment instrument. Cash is still the main payment instrument for low
value transactions throughout Solomon Islands and I believe will remain so for a considerable
time into the future.
In Honiara, where we have EFPOS terminals at checkout counters, people still run to the ATMs
to withdraw cash before they head to the shops for their groceries. They could have used their
cards at the terminals but obviously the choice of payment is still predominantly cash.
Our statistics revealed that we have an estimated share of banknote of $1,500 per capita, by
value - this is fairly high but expected in a cash based economy like Solomon Islands.
So, I think we are not seeing yet the demise of cash in Solomon Islands. Perhaps not in the next
decade or two. Obviously, the key observation from the numbers is that we all use cash in our
daily transactions.
That being the case, we need to know a little bit more about our notes and coins, how to handle
them and the important roles that we all perform in the cash cycle in our various capacities. In
that context, ladies and gentlemen, let me now touch a little bit about our new $5 banknote.
Our new Polymer $5 Banknote
Our new polymer $5 banknote is the last in our existing note series to be reformed. The proposal
to reform the $5 note received the Board's approval in 2016 and, subsequently a Currency
Tender Committee was established and tasked to tender the project to note suppliers in a closed
tender process. Note Printing Australia was successful in the tender process, and that began our
journey with NPA in the production and supply of our new polymer $5 note, up until its delivery in
early April this year.
And I am pleased that the CEO of NPA (and his main man behind this project) are here with us to
witness this launch.
Looking back, I am amazed by the amount of work and time that went into the project from
inception to delivery of the products. I can still recollect the many exchanges of emails, onsite
visitations, training workshops conducted by technical experts from NPA for our Currency team -
Nuwan and Brian are here and they can attest to this. Importantly, the whole process involved
numerous checks and balances, compliance to ensure the job meets international standards in
note printing and satisfaction of in-house quality controls.
Indeed, it was not an 'easy walk through the park' job.
Why the Polymer Substrate?
The $5 denomination is currently the lowest in our family of banknotes. It is the most used
banknote for low value transactions.
Currently, in terms of volume, we have about 2 million pieces of $5 notes in circulation. This is
equivalent to 4 pcs per capita or $20 per person, by value.
Since the $5 note changes hands more frequently than other banknotes, it gets easily exposed to
dirt and moisture that eventually shortens its life expectancy.
However, with polymer substrate we expect the notes to last 3 - 5 times longer than the life of
the existing $5 paper note. Its durability saves cost for us. Not only that, but we should also have
eco-friendly and cleaner notes in circulation which are also difficult to counterfeit.
Concluding Remarks
Ladies and Gentlemen, at this juncture, I'd like to remind the general public to take good care of
the currency notes. Our notes are our 'silent ambassadors' for they speak volumes about us as
a nation.
For the new polymer $5 banknote, the design element is focused on the fisheries sector. It
should remind us of the important role that the fishing industry contributes to economic growth in
SI.
You will note that the yellow fin tuna is portrayed in the clear window on the note. On the reverse
side of the note, traditional fishing is portrayed which is an emotional hook that we all relate to.
Importantly, this design underscores our vision for a strong sense of community and social
cohesion, which is vital to our nation's future. In addition, the durable and recyclable
characteristics of the polymer also fits with our vision for a sustainable and responsible fishing
industry. The design elements may be small but we hope that each time a person looks at the
note s/he is reminded of the contributions of the tuna industry to this nation and the potentials that
we can get from this industry going forward.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is, therefore, no coincidence that we are launching our new polymer $5
note on this very day, to also mark the World Tuna Day.
Thank you very much for your attention.