New money

last updated 8 January 2015

Dakar, Senegal

Eight West African countries agreed this week to replace $1 billion worth of paper currency with new bills. The countries that use the franc of the African Financial Community—known by its French acronym, CFA—as their common currency have seen a wave of bank robberies and counterfeitings in the past few years. The new money will have metallic strips to deter counterfeiters, and will feature designs of African art and animals. The changeover will also have a fringe benefit: cleanliness. CFA countries haven’t put fresh bills into circulation for more than 10 years, and many of the francs are so dirty they’re slimy.