The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has dismissed false reports claiming that it is planning to introduce a R10 coin and a R500 note.
A fake Twitter account bearing SARB’s name tried to mislead the public by announcing, on 10 June, the imminent release of the two denominations.
However, posting on Twitter on Saturday, 11 June, SARB said it has since reported the fake Twitter account. It said:
Please note that this is a fake account and has been reported to Twitter. SA Reserve Bank is not planning to issue a R10 coin or a R500 note.
On 29 January 2009, SARB was also forced to speak out on rumours that it was about to issue a new R500 note. The SA central bank said then:
The attention of the public is drawn to the existence of an image of a fake R500 note design which is circulating via electronic mail.
The bank is investigating the origin of these designs which carry the logo of Southern Designer.
South Africa has a family of five banknotes and the R200 note remains the highest denomination. The bank is not planning to issue any new notes, including R500 notes, in the near future.
The public is encouraged to take note of the security features on the South African bank notes.