June 26, 2010
By Neesa Moodley-isaacs
If you missed the deadline of May 31 to exchange your old R200 banknotes for new ones at the big four commercial banks (Absa, First National Bank, Nedbank and Standard Bank), the good news is that the deadline has been extended to July 31.
After that date, you will be able to exchange old R200 notes - those printed between 1994 and 2005 - only at a branch of the South African Reserve Bank in Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, East London, Johannesburg or Port Elizabeth, or at the bank's headquarters in Pretoria.
Old notes will not be accepted by retailers or commercial banks after July 31.
The Reserve Bank says the decision to remove the pre-2005 R200 notes from circulation was prompted by the high number of counterfeit notes in circulation.
Retailers are allowed to refuse to accept the old R200 banknotes, but some retailers are also refusing to accept the new R200 notes. If this happens, you can report the retailer to the Reserve Bank on 012 313 3575.
Some of the key features of the upgraded banknotes are:
Coat of arms. The South African coat of arms features prominently in the top left corner on the front of the banknote and in the iridescent gold band on the back of the note and as a holographic image in the silver security thread.
Watermark. The watermark includes the note's numerical value. The watermark and the numerical value are visible when the note is held up to the light.
Windowed security thread. The silver security thread is four millimetres wide on the new R200 note, whereas it is two millimetres on the old R200 note. The words "SARB" and "rand" and the note's numerical value appear in the thread when the note is held up to the light. The national coat of arms appears in the thread when the note is tilted.
Colour-changing ink. The note's numerical value, in the bottom right on the front of the note, is printed in ink that changes colour from magenta to green when you tilt the note.
Diamond shapes. There are five diamond shapes with a raised feel on the front of the note to assist the blind. The old R200 note has dots instead of diamonds.
Gold band. This very prominent feature is on the back of the note. When the note is tilted, the national coat of arms and the banknote's numerical value appear in the gold band.
  
 
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