Safaricom sets end date for old Ksh1,000 banknotes

Kenya telecoms giant has announced that its M-Pesa shops will not accept the old Ksh1,000 ($10) banknotes from next week.

In a statement on Saturday, the telco said the last day to collect the denomination will be September 26.

“Safaricom will not take old notes after 26th September to allow us bank in time,” reads the statement.

The Central Bank of Kenya in June announced that it demonetising the Ksh1,000 notes, effective October 1, to deal with illicit financial flows and counterfeits.

“By Gazette Notice No. 4849 of May 31, 2019, all the older Ksh1,000 banknotes shall be withdrawn and will cease to be legal tender on October 1, 2019. All other denominations are unaffected and will continue to circulate alongside the New Generation banknotes,” the CBK said at the time.

Safaricom is Kenya’s largest and most profitable mobile network operator.