The Bank of Zambia received the award for its new Zambian Kwacha (K) series issued last year, which was also accompanied by a nationwide currency sensitisation campaign to educate the public about the new currency features and provide information on the exchange process.
The new series showcases Zambia’s rich heritage, with its unique flora and fauna as the central theme; hence it is called the ‘Heritage Series’. It consists of six banknotes (K500, K200, K100, K50, K20, K10) and six coins (K5, K2, K1, 50N, 10N, and 5N).
The design of the new banknotes honours Zambia’s natural beauty, with iconic symbols such as the African Fish Eagle, endemic flowers, waterfalls, and Zambian wildlife, offering a more modern appearance to the country’s currency. They also feature enhanced security features to combat counterfeiting, with two higher-value denominations (K500 and K200) introduced to promote more efficient transactions.
Additionally, the redefined note-coin boundary introduces the new K5 and K2 coins, while the lower-value notes (K10 and K20) are made with durable substrates to ensure longevity in circulation.
All of the notes feature improved tactile marks in distinct patterns, introduced in response to the needs of the visually impaired community.
The Bank engaged Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions (KBBS) as the consultant for the design of the new notes. The K500, K200, K20, and K10 denominations were produced by Giesecke & Devrient Currency Technology, while Crane Currency supplied the K100 and K50 denominations.
The new currency series includes several advanced security features, including a Galaxy® thread and SPARK Flow Prime on the K200 and K500. The threads colour-shift from gold to green for the 200, and magenta to green for the for the 500. They also ‘flip’ from the denomination to the Bank of Zambia logo. The K50 and K100 feature SPARK® and have a RollingStar®i+ thread colour-shifting from green to magenta for the 50, and gold to jade for the 100. Both have a dynamic ‘bloom’ effect.
The K10 and K20 are printed on Durasafe substrate with a RAPID® security thread, whilst the remaining denominations are printed on cotton substrate.