BARBADOS will be joining Jamaica this December with the introduction of polymer banknotes, as more Caribbean countries move from cotton and hybrid substrates to the more secure forms of legal tender which will have longer lifespans and reduced costs.

The announcement was made on Monday by the Central Bank of Barbados (CBB), which outlined plans to introduce the new-look banknotes on May 4 to the Barbadian public for them to get a feel of the design and security features. This will come two days after the CBB celebrates its 50th anniversary, with the notes set to go into circulation on December 5.

“The bank remains committed to reducing the use of cash and ensuring that Barbadians have a range of payment options available to them. With this transition to polymer we will be able to offer Barbadians banknotes that are highly secure, with features that are harder to simulate yet easy to authenticate. While counterfeiting is not a major concern in Barbados, we recognise the need to be proactive in this area,” said governor of the CBB Cleviston Haynes in a press release.

There was BB$816 million ($62.33 billion) in circulation spread across 27 million notes up to 2020. Though the older current banknotes will remain in circulation alongside the new polymer notes, they will eventually be phased out of use. The banknotes will maintain the same colour, with different shades, while the persons who adorn the notes and represent Barbadian history and culture will remain intact. Thus, there’ll be no immediate inclusion of Robyn Rihanna Fenty on a twenty.

Barbados currently has $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 banknotes which feature John Redman Bovell, Sir Frank Worrell, Charles Duncan O’Neal, Samuel Jackman Prescod, Errol Barrow and Sir Grantley Adams, respectively.

“The change in material will mean that the new notes have a different feel in addition to the new look but some things will remain the same — among them the denominations, the colours, and the noted Barbadians who are featured on them. The value of the notes will also remain the same,” Haynes added.

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) introduced polymer notes in 2019 for the members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. Apart from being the first central bank in the Caribbean to introduce a full series of polymer notes, the ECCB won the regional Best New Banknote Series award from Reconnaissance International earlier this week for its family of notes.

Trinidad and Tobago started to transition to polymer notes in December 2019 through the introduction of the $100 banknote. After completing the roll-out of the notes, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT), through parliament, demonetized all the remaining cotton notes ($1, $5, $10, $20, $50) issued with series dates prior to 2020 as of January 1, 2022. All notes issued with series dates after 2020 will be redeemed indefinitely by the CBTT.

The Bahamas has introduced paper-polymer composite substrates for its currency, which has seen it introduce a new series called Crisp Evolution. The $50 note won a technical award nomination from the International Association of Currency Affairs in November 2020. Its $100 banknote featuring former Governor General Arthur Dion Hanna has motion technology that shows a school of fish swimming at deep depth, with other ones swimming lazily near its surface in the Bahamian blue waters.

The Dominican Republic introduced a $20 polymer note in 2010 but withdrew it from circulation in the 2014 series. Other Caribbean states such as Haiti and Cuba still use cotton-based material as well as the Dutch, French and USA overseas territories who continue to use the euro and United States dollar, which are still cotton-based fibres. Those central banks have decided to maintain their decision to print on cotton,, rather than switch. The Bank of England completed its issuance of polymer notes in June 2021 while Canada and Australia have had polymer notes for years.