The National Bank of Rwanda has formally announced that older series of Rwandan franc banknotes, across four denominations will cease to be legal tender 12 months from 2 March 2026, giving the public until 2 March 2027 to complete exchanges.
The announcement, signed by Governor Soraya M. Hakuziyaremye and published on Tuesday 24 March 2026, follows Presidential Order n°11/01 of 27 February 2026, which was gazetted in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda.
The affected notes are the FRW 500 series issued in 2004 and 2013, the FRW 1,000 series issued in 2004 and 2015, the FRW 2,000 series issued in 2007, and the FRW 5,000 series issued in 2004 and 2009, essentially Rwanda’s older generation of currency spanning two decades of design.
This follows Rwanda’s broader pattern of phased currency modernisation. The central bank has been progressively retiring older note series in favour of updated designs with stronger security features, a process that has included successive redesigns of the 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 5,000 franc notes over the past decade to reflect national symbols and combat counterfeiting.
For Rwandans, the practical window is tighter than the headline deadline suggests. Holders of the affected notes have nine months from 2 March to 1 November 2026, to exchange them at any commercial bank or Umwalimu SACCO.
After November, the notes will only be accepted at the National Bank of Rwanda’s head office in Kiyovu, Kigali, and its branches, until the final cutoff of 1 March 2027. Anyone who misses that deadline will be left with notes that have no monetary value.
The NBR has not specified what new notes will replace the retired series, but the phased exchange window and the Presidential Order backing suggest this is part of a structured currency refresh rather than an emergency recall.
Rwandans should check the denominations and issue dates on any notes they hold and act before the November 2026 commercial bank deadline to avoid the inconvenience of traveling to the central bank directly.
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