​The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has today informed employees and their trade union representative SASBO that the SARB will soon start consultations on the best possible way to improve the efficiency with which banknotes and coin are supplied to and collected from the financial system.Banknotes and coin are a critical part of our daily lives and contribute to the smooth functioning of our economy. They are one of the few products that touch the lives of most citizens every day.Part of the SARB’skey functions is to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of good quality banknotes and coin in circulation at all times. Key to the achievement of this mandate is the efficiency with which the SARB supplies banknotes and coin to the public via the banking system and collects banknotes and coin that are unfit for circulation fordestruction.A recent review of the SARB’s banknotes and coin distributionprocessesfound a number of inefficiencies. The SARB will engage constructively and transparently with staff and their representative trade union to determine the best possible way to address the inefficiencies, including with regard to any staff impact. It is the outcome of these discussions that will determine the way forward. Issued by Jabulani SikhakhaneHead of Communications Background note for editorsBanknotes and coin go through a number of processes before they reach the consumer. The process starts with the printing of notes by the South African Bank Note Company and the minting of coin by the South African Mint Company. Both companies are subsidiaries of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).The SARB keeps stock of banknotes and coin at its depot from where they are distributed to the SARB's branches in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Bloemfontein, East London and Port Elizabeth. Cash-in-transit operators collect cash from the branches on behalf of the Commercial Banks and distribute it to the cash industry based on the orders they have placed with the SARB. Demand for banknotes and coin peak during Easter and Christmas periods in line with the increased public usage of these.These banknotes and coin are ultimately returned back to the SARB via the same distribution network. They are returned primarily when banks, for example, are holding cash that is in excess of their requirements or returning soiled notes from circulation.Communications Divisionmedia@resbank.co.za+27 12 313 4209/3465