Photo: Suspilne
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has unveiled a new 2,000-hryvnia banknote, Governor Andriy Pyshnyi announced during a briefing, according to Suspilne.
The new banknote features Ukrainian poet and dissident Vasyl Stus on the front, along with the building of the Faculty of Philology at Donetsk National University, where he studied.
The NBU plans to put the banknote into circulation on September 4, marking the anniversary of the public protest held in support of the Ukrainian intelligentsia.
According to the central bank, the new 2,000-hryvnia note incorporates at least 20 advanced security features designed to strengthen protection against counterfeiting.
Pyshnyi said the introduction of the new denomination is intended to optimize cash circulation and streamline logistics. The NBU estimates that replacing 1,000-hryvnia banknotes with 2,000-hryvnia notes could reduce cash transportation and handling costs by half while making cash transactions more convenient for businesses and consumers.
The NBU also noted that since the introduction of the 1,000-hryvnia banknote in October 2019, Ukraine's average monthly salary has tripled, while consumer prices have roughly doubled. As a result, paying an average monthly salary in cash now requires more than 30 of the highest-denomination banknotes, compared with about 10 seven years ago, underscoring the need for a higher-value banknote.