Ghana’s ATMs out of action for currency changeover.

12 Jun, 2007

Ghanaian bank account holders will not be able to withdraw cash from automated teller machines (ATMs) across the country from 30 June to 2 July in view of the introduction of the new cedi coins and notes, which officially come into circulation on Republic Day on 1 July. The stop is needed to allow banks to convert all balances into the new currency and to load ATMs with the new notes. 2 July, which falls on a Monday, has been declared a one-off public holiday, making the first working day after the introduction of the new currency Tuesday 3 July.

The new notes and coins are being introduced to reduce the accounting and data management problems caused by the existing currency with its multiple zeros. Under the new system 10,000 existing cedis (