By Innovation-sa on May 27, 2018 in News
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) announced that it will start withdrawing one-riyal notes from the market from Thursday and new riyal coins will replace the notes. However, SAMA confirmed that paper currencies will still be traded alongside the new coins until all one-riyal notes are gradually withdrawn from the markets.
Earlier in December 2016, SAMA had unveiled the sixth issue of Saudi currency in different denominations, which included the new one-riyal and two-riyal coins as well as 50-halala, 25-halala, 10-halala and one-halala coins.
The one-riyal coin has a portrait of King Salman in silver in the center, on the right is the name and title of the King (Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud) engraved in a golden frame and on the left is the plant motif encircling the Kingdom’s national emblem.
Like most of the developed countries, which despite the development of extensive monetary and financial systems, still depend on currencies widely, Saudi Arabia is also moving towards accepting a piece of metal as its main currency which can, later on, be used in a number of services and machines.
SAMA noted the benefits of the new decision that the average life expectancy of a coin is estimated at twenty to twenty-five years, whereas the life expectancy of a paper currency is estimated at anywhere between twelve to eighteen months, depending on the usage. Coins are efficient for recycling and their transfer and preservation remain easier than paper currency.
SAMA informed that all six categories of the currency issued are currently available at all SAMA branches and banks operating across the Kingdom. In case of any difficulty in obtaining the currency from banks, citizens are advised to register a complaint with the Customer Protection Department through SamaCares.com or by calling the toll-free number 8001256666.
Source:
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1278531/saudi-arabia-launches-riyal-coins-replace-banknotes