KINGSTON, Jamaica – The refreshed banknotes will arrive in the island by the first week of December, Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke has announced.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Clarke said that automated teller machines (ATMs) are now being retrofitted to facilitate the issue of the new notes to the public. He also said the public will be sensitized before the banknotes are publicly issued.

“That process is expected to last between three to six months,” Clarke said.

The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) announced earlier this year that it is to spend more than $1 billion to produce the refreshed banknotes, including a new $2,000 note on which the images of late former prime ministers Edward Seaga and Michael Manley will appear together.

Clarke said the new notes are part of the work being done by the BOJ to upgrade/refresh the currency in circulation to save costs through increased durability of banknotes, enhance the security of the notes to reduce the risk of counterfeiting, enhance the features to better meet the needs of the visually impaired, and ensure that the colour and other distinctions among banknotes of different denominations are clear.