State currency order returns Sh25b in ‘mattress accounts’

Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge when he appeared before the Senate ICT Committee on the protection of customer data by telecommunication companies at County Hall, Nairobi. [Boniface Okendo/Standard]

Within a month after Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Patrick Njoroge announced plans to phase out the old Sh1,000 banknotes, a massive Sh25 billion resurfaced into circulation.

This saw money outside of banks — in coins and notes — reduce by nearly one-tenth from Sh222 billion to Sh196 billion, according to the latest data from the CBK.