Saurimo – The Angola Central Bank (BNA) is working to install, by the end of this year, custody services in the province of Lunda-Sul, with a view to increasing the availability of money to meet the populations' needs.
The guarantee was given this Thursday, in Saurimo, by the BNA executive administrator, Marília Poças, during the 7th National Treasury Meeting of the Central Bank, which began today.
On the occasion, the source said that the Central Bank has expanded its presence throughout the national territory, through the opening of new regional delegations and securities custody centers, in partnership with commercial banks, and is already represented in 14 provinces of the country.
Regarding the improvement of treasury, she highlighted that the institution has published regulations that can be observed by all participants in the process, whether internally by BNA employees or for commercial banks.
She also added that the BNA focuses on the dimensions of security features, identification of counterfeit banknotes and destruction of online and offline cash, optimizing the machines that process volumes of banknotes.
Despite the development of the Angolan payment system and the existence of more modern electronic payment mechanisms, Marília Poças stated that the use of physical money continues to play a preponderant role in the payment system, hence the need to pay more attention to this phenomenon.
She said that this fact is essentially due to the lack of literacy and financial education on the part of many citizens, who handle currency less carefully.
The administrator also added that the province of Luanda is the one that registers the most cash flow, a fact that forces the Central Bank to build a logistics center for storing and processing currency with optimized equipment, which will result in a reduction in the human contribution to its treatment.
She also mentioned that the Central Bank is concerned with environmental issues, with the implementation of strategies that aim to recycle waste banknotes and their use, without causing damage to the environment.
Regarding the availability of quality metallic coin notes to the population, the official said that the institution has expanded its presence throughout the national territory through the opening of new regional offices, as well as value custody centers, in partnership with commercial banks, currently represented in 14 provinces across the country.
The 7th National Treasury Meeting of the Central Bank, promoted by the BNA, aims to reflect the role of banks in the process of Angolan economic growth.
Topics such as “Currency circulation in Angola and challenges”, “The Central Bank as a guarantor of the quality of circulation, modernization of cash management”, “Management model for Brazil's currency”, “Cash cycle management – the case of Mozambique” and “Resilience in treasury management” are being debated at the event, which ends this Friday.
Also part of the range of topics are “The automation of processes for a sustainable treasury”, “Risks associated with treasury management activities”, “Prevention of BNA counterfeiting”, “Innovations in banknote security elements”, among another subjects.
Lunda-Sul has 12 commercial banks, with a total of 24 bank branches.
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