South Sudan limits currency conversion period to 45 days ArticleComments (6). Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 26, 2011 (JUBA) – The Central Bank of South Sudan (CBSS) on Tuesday announced a new policy limiting conversion from Sudanese Pounds to new South Sudan Pounds after independence to one and a half months. New South Sudan pound (Getty)The 45 days will run from July 9 through 1 September 2011. South Sudan introduced its new currency just nine days after becoming independent on July 9. The deputy head of the former branch of the Central Bank of Sudan, now South Sudan’s national bank, said the launching of the new currency by the north necessitated the change of schedule in duration allowed for collection of the old currency from the public. "The change of schedule has been necessitated by the launch of a new currency by the North; therefore, central bank of South Sudan is asking all the people to comply with the new schedule," reads part of the statement obtained by the Sudan Tribune on Tuesday. The Central Bank of South Sudan (CBSS) statement cautioned that any old currencies which will not have been exchanged by the end of the period will be rendered valueless. The statement advised the general public to go to the nearest designated centers and exchange their currency. All commercial banks are exchange centers. "The CBSS has asked them to allocate specific counters for this exercise. Any persons or companies with more than SDG 50,000 in cash have been advised to open bank accounts and deposit the money there. All funds held in bank accounts will be exchanged automatically", adds part of the statement while explaining further that all banks have been advised to report any suspicious deposits and fund movements which may signal money laundering and other crimes to the CBSS. The banks have also been asked to report cases of counterfeit notes. The statement signed by Mr. Kornelio Koriom Mayik who chairs the South Sudan Currency Conversion Committee, says that commercial banks have been directed not to make any payments in SDG henceforth. The currency conversion exercise had crippled the services of Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) in the country. This was largely due to the introduction of new denominations which required reprogramming of ATM systems. Similarly, the change in the size of the currency – the SSP is smaller than the SDG – also caused a major challenge. The issues have now been addressed and the ATM services have resumed normally. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
