The BCRA Launches the ARS20,000 Banknote

The BCRA puts into circulation the new ARS20,000 banknote, which will be distributed starting tomorrow through the network of bank branches and ATMs across Argentina.

This banknote completes the “Heroines and Heroes of the Nation” Series created in 2022. The obverse displays the portrait of Juan Bautista Alberdi, who inspired the National Constitution of 1853. The reverse depicts a replica of the house where the lawyer, writer, journalist, philosopher, economist, diplomat and politician was born.

Efficiency and Savings

The introduction of higher denomination banknotes together with effective monetary programming reduce the direct costs of the BCRA and the operating costs of the financial system as a whole.

A higher denomination banknote means that fewer banknotes will be printed to meet the society's cash demand. Fewer banknotes in circulation reduce the cost of replenishing ATMs and the processing time at branches.

The proper planning of banknote procurement improved logistics and coordination processes, reducing transport costs to one fifteenth by using ships instead of planes. Distribution and replenishment of this banknote will be more efficient for financial institutions. In contrast to previous experiences, the BCRA together with financial institutions implemented a work plan to introduce the new ARS20,000 banknote into the ATM system while it was still in production. This will result in a faster adoption of the new banknote.

The procurement of banknotes through competitive international tenders reduced the cost from USD126 per thousand banknotes in the old contract with Casa de Moneda to USD48 per thousand banknotes in the last tender held in August.

The argument that increasing banknote denominations creates inflationary pressure is undermined by the confirmation that the observed inflation rate reached its lowest level in the past three years, despite the introduction of the ARS10,000 banknote (five times the denomination of the largest banknote available until then).

November 13, 2024