The Bank of Israel has announced that from next Thursday November 23 2017, the new NIS 20 and NIS 100 banknotes will be distributed to the public via the commercial banks, automated banking machines, and the Postal Bank. Governor of the Bank of Israel Dr. Karnit Flug will present the new bills to President Reuven Rivlin at an event at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, on Wednesday.
The new NIS 20 bill, which is red, and 129 mm long, features a portrait of Rachel the Poetess (Rachel Bluwstein). The new NIS 100 bill, is orange and slightly larger at NIS 143 mm long, and features a portrait of the poet Leah Goldberg.
The new banknotes, like the others in the new series, include advanced standards of security, innovation, and accessibility, and include a variety of security features against counterfeiting. To assist the blind and visually impaired, the denominations in the new series differ in length, with a difference of 7 mm between each denomination, and include special features that make it easier to identify each denomination.
The Bank of Israel adds that bills from the current Series B of the new shekel, which are still in use by the public, will remain legal tender for a number of years, and will remain in circulation in parallel with the new bills. Since the process of replacing them is gradual, the public is not required to take any action at this stage to replace the bills, and when bills from Series B are deposited at the Bank of Israel by banks, they will gradually be replaced by the new notes. The Bank of Israel will publish guidelines on the replacement of old bills at a later date.
The new bills have caused public controversy because of the choice of portraits appearing on them. The last State Comptroller's report revealed that the final choice was made by one committee member involved in production of the notes and against the wishes of the minister of finance who wanted other portraits.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 16, 2017
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