On 25 September 2018, the National Bank of Ukraine (the NBU) put into circulation the 20 hryvnia banknote of 2018 design with improved security features.
Starting today, the new 20 hryvnia banknote is legal tender and shall be accepted at its face value by all individuals and legal entities without any limitation all over the territory of Ukraine.
It will remain in circulation along with 20 hryvnia banknotes of 2003 design. Citizens will not have to exchange old banknotes for the new ones.
“Ukrainians will be able to make payments with banknotes of both 2003 and 2018 design for an unlimited period. The NBU will replace worn-out and damaged 20 hryvnia banknotes of 2003 design with the new ones,” noted Viktor Zaivenko, Director of the NBU Cash Circulation Department. He then added that the replacement of old banknotes with the new ones is a continuous process, which causes no inconvenience to the public.
He also reported that the first batch of new 20 hryvnia banknotes in the amount of more than 5 million pieces was distributed among the NBU’s regional units for further distribution among banks, which in their turn would provide Ukrainians with the new banknotes.
This year, 60 million of 20 hryvnia banknotes will be printed in total, which will cover the economy’s need for this denomination and ensure gradual replacement of worn-out 20 hryvnia banknotes.
As of 1 September 2018, the number of 20 hryvnia banknotes in circulation stood at nearly 125 million amounting to UAH 2.5 billion (some 4.4% of the total number of banknotes in circulation).
Overall, the NBU annually withdraws from circulation about 800 million worn-out banknotes of all denominations. Nearly half of them are low-denomination banknotes from 1 to 20 hryvnias.
Last year, for instance, the NBU withdrew a total of 749 million of worn-out and significantly worn-out banknotes worth UAH 48 billion, including 72 million pieces of 20 hryvnia banknotes worth close to UAH 1.5 billion. This represents nearly 10% of the total amount of worn-out and significantly worn-out banknotes withdrawn from the circulation.
Viktor Zaivenko emphasized that by redesigning the hryvnia banknote and improving the security features the NBU aimed at enhancing the banknote’s reliability. When working on updates of Ukrainian denominations, the NBU applies cutting-edge design and security technologies.
International practice shows that design and security features of banknotes must be updated at certain time intervals in order to minimize or completely prevent any attempts to counterfeit them.
For reference.
The 20 hryvnia banknote of 2018 design mimics the updated 100 and 500 hryvnia banknotes of 2014 and 2015 design, respectively.
Main images of the 20 hryvnia banknote of 2003 design have been preserved on the new one:
- the portrait of Ivan Franko is depicted centrally on the front side,
- the building of the Lviv Opera House remains on the reverse side.
The optically variable security element is placed on the right side of the portrait, as on the rest of the new banknotes. It shows a stylized image of a flower made with optically variable ink (OVI) that changes color when looking at a banknote from different angles from purple (magenta) to olive green.
Also, the image of the face value has been expanded, UV and IR protection has been enhanced, the mark for people with visual impairments has been improved, etc.
Learn more on specifics and security features of the updated 20 hryvnia banknote and get answers to pressing questions at the NBU’s special web page: https://20uah.bank.gov.ua
Moreover, the NBU upgraded its Ukrainian Hryvnia mobile application and added information on the new 20 hryvnia banknote. Now, you can learn about protection of Ukrainian money in an easy and convenient way by downloading the Ukrainian Hryvnia mobile app from App Store or Google Play for free.