Just a week after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) banned the use of banknotes to create bouquets and other decorative displays, other African nations appear to be following suit.
On 2 February, CBK clarified that while gifting cash is legal, folding, rolling, stapling, or pinning banknotes for decorative purposes damages currency and renders it unfit for circulation.
The regulator cited Section 367 of the Penal Code, which prohibits the defacement, mutilation, or impairment of currency notes.
Following Kenya’s lead, the Bank of Uganda and the National Bank of Rwanda have issued similar warnings.
The Bank of Uganda cautioned florists, designers, and the public against using banknotes for bouquets, money cakes, or decorative gifts, emphasizing that damaged notes cannot be used in ATMs or cash-counting machines, leading to costly replacements.
Similarly, the National Bank of Rwanda banned the use of Rwandan francs for decorations, warning that folding, taping, pinning, or gluing notes undermines public trust in the currency and weakens the national cash distribution system.
As more African central banks join the push to end currency misuse, money bouquets and similar cash decorations may soon become a thing of the past.
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