Responsibilities for Vatu Banknotes and Coins
The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act [CAP 125] confers on the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu the responsibility for the production and issue, reissue and cancellation of Vatu banknotes and coins.
The RBV manages its currency operations through its Currency Office which arranges for the Vatu banknotes to be printed and supplied by De La Rue Currency, UK and the Vatu coins to be minted and supplied by the UK Royal Mint.
Vatu notes and coins are issued to and withdrawn from public circulation through the commercial banks from the Bank in Port Vila.
Achieving a Clean, Counterfeit-Free Circulation
The RBV aims to have only good quality Vatu notes and coins in circulation to combat counterfeiting issues and help maintain confidence the currency.
To achieve this, the RBV has established quality standards for banknotes and coins in circulation as set out in Note Sorting Guidelines for the banks to adhere to and identify unfit notes and coins for withdrawal from circulation. The RBV performed random quality checks on presorted lodged banknotes and coins to ensure good quality is maintained.
The unfit notes and coins are lodged with RBV for disposal while the counterfeits are reported to the authorities for further investigation.
Guide to Security features of banknotes are available for the public and others for familiarization against counterfeiting.