New banknotes arrive in Venezuela to complete monetary overhaul

Vice-president of Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) Jose Khan announced Wednesday that new 1,000-bolivar (1.43 U.S. dollars) banknotes had arrived in the country, allowing it to complete the roll-out of its new monetary system.

"This cargo completes the family of the new monetary basket," Khan told the state-owned Venezolana de Televisión, from Maiquetia international airport, 21 kilometers from downtoan Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.

The official stated that a total of 600 boxes, containing a total of 30 million 1,000-bolivar notes had arrived, reaching an equivalent value of 30 billion bolivars (around 42.9 million U.S. dollars).

"This is a great satisfaction as many people had stated this would not be completed," Khan said.

Last year, facing three-digit hyperinflation in the country, the government decided to overhaul the monetary system and replace current banknotes with higher valued ones, worth 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 bolivars.

According to the government, this new system would help Venezuelans carry out financial transactions, without carrying vast quantities of the old notes, the value of which plummeted due to inflation.

The administration had originally planned to begin the new system on Dec. 15, 2016, but postponed until now. Endit