In it’s annual report which was approved by the Auditor General, the Bank of Uganda (BoU) says it spent Shs199.3bn on printing & issuance of new currency in Uganda in 2022/23.

The Bank of Uganda also spent Shs172.3Bn for the same purpose in the financial year 2021/22.

“As the Bank issued more new currency to meet the economy’s demand during the period 2022/23, currency issuance costs also grew by 16% from Shs172.3Bn in FY2021/22 to Shs199.3Bn in 2022/23,” BoU said.

According to Bank of Uganda, the net value of banknotes in circulation increased by Shs477bn from Shs6.6trn in June 2022 to Shs7.1trn in June 2023 while that of coins increased by Shs9.9trn.

The increment was attributed to demand for cash in response to increased economic activity.

The Central Bank also revealed that as at 30th June 2023, mobile money transaction values significantly increased from Shs156trn in June 2022 to Shs191.3trn, while the number of registered mobile money customers stood at 42.9 million reflecting a 11.4% increase from 38.5 million in June 2022.