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Tengrinews.kz - The National Bank of Kazakhstan has addressed concerns over what some citizens see as “frequent” redesigns of the tenge, emphasizing that changes are driven by security needs rather than aesthetics.
Chairman Timur Suleimenov explained that the national currency’s design is updated far less often than many believe.
“The design of the tenge does not change frequently. Since independence, it has been redesigned three times: the first tenge, then in the 2010s, and now in the 2020s,” he said during a briefing at the National Bank.
Suleimenov stressed that the primary goal of updating the currency is to strengthen protection against counterfeiting and to keep pace with technological developments.
“Some changes are dictated by the need to prevent forgery, while others reflect our obligation to develop and modernize our banknotes. The original design and security features of the first tenge cannot compare with today’s standards — back then, we were a young country and lacked such capabilities,” he explained.
He also noted that creating the new design did not require additional spending.
“We did not pay a single tenge to external designers. The entire project was carried out by the National Bank’s own design team — our staff who receive regular salaries. These banknotes would have been printed anyway, as the old ones are withdrawn and destroyed. Therefore, no extra money was spent on the new design. I state this with full responsibility,” Suleimenov concluded.
