QCOSTARICA – The Old ¢20,000 bills, made from cotton substrate, will lose their value from January 1, 2022, the Central Bank reported. Only the polymer-based 20K banknotes will continue in circulation.
Also, as of March 1, 2022, the ¢5,000 bills issued on cotton paper will also lose their value, while the ¢2,000 bills will do so on May 1.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica announced Friday that it will put into circulation, starting October 15, the new ¢1,000 and ¢10,000 banknotes, printed on a polymer substrate (a material similar to plastic).
With this, the five denominations – ¢1,000, ¢2,000, ¢5,000, ¢10,000 and ¢20,000 – that make up the banknote family will circulate on the polymer substrate.
The current cotton paper ¢1,000 and ¢10,000 bills will continue to exist and be legal tender as a means of payment until the date that the Central Bank establishes otherwise.
Not to worry, the old banknotes, though out of circulation and cannot be used as legal tender for payment, are not lost, they can be exchanged at their face value at the Central Bank offices in downtown San Jose.