BoT embarks on drive to help spot counterfeit money

By The guardian reporter

Bank of Tanzania (BoT)

 ALTHOUGH the circulation of counterfeit money has fallen by about one percent, the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has commenced a sensitisation drive to help people spot fake banknotes.

 

The age old problem of counterfeit money in circulation has becoming serious in many, if not all, countries around the world, Tanzania included.

 

“Although bearing some resemblance to a genuine note, counterfeits are easily distinguished through the absence of watermarks, metallic thread and windowed security thread, as well as the softness and poor quality of the paper used,” says Harry Mwansembo, BoT’s Manager of Operations Department.

 

He therefore pointed out that through sensitisation programmes, the public and business community will be reminded to carefully check all banknotes, especially higher denomination notes.

 

People, he said, should check each banknote they receive of the basic protective elements in three simple steps: by rubbing the note between their fingers, by holding it up to a light and by tipping it against the light.

 

He said that anyone believes that they are in possession of a fake banknote should take it to the central bank for examination and further appropriate action.

 

Continued availability and increased accessibility of new and sophisticated technologies in the form of high-quality colour copier and scanner have enabled criminals to produce counterfeit banknotes.

 

Mwansembo warns that currency counterfeiting, if not prevented and dealt with accordingly, can pose a significant risk to the economy and lead to loss of public confidence in the dependability of the Tanzanian currency.

 

The confidence placed in a currency is ultimately dependent on its stability and security.

 

Richard Wambali, BoT Director of Dodoma Branch called on commercial banks to be vigilant of their staff to avoid being used as conduit for illegal transfer of counterfeit money.

 

Wambali stopped short of claiming that banks were involved in supply of counterfeit notes but stressed that taking precautions is of paramount importance to ensure effective protection of the currency from abuse.

 

“The central bank has adopted a strategy to ensure state-of-the-art security features are on banknotes that are difficult to forge, develop necessary capacity and infrastructure with banks to issue genuine and authenticated banknotes to the public and creating general public awareness,” he told this paper.

 

Wambali observed that banks are required to issue only sorted cash to the public from their cash counters and ATMs to ensure that they issue genuine and authenticated banknotes.

 

Cash received by bank branches cannot be issued unless sorted, said Wambali, noting that the bulk of this sorting is manual and vulnerable to human errors. As such, he advised banks to install banknotes authentication and sorting machines.

 

However, the central bank has revealed some border regions on the Mainland that have become main transit points for counterfeit money including Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Ruvuma, Kigoma, Kagera and Mbeya