High-denomination bills or value-adjusted billes? Reprospective analysis of the reform of the congolese range of banknotes in 2012 and lessons to be learned.

Abstract

In the Congolese collective memory, the injection of new banknotes, especially with high face value, is a harbinger of rampant inflation and a depreciation of the national currency. The unfortunate experiences of the 1990s are at the origin of the psychological equality “big bills = rising prices”. However, the adaptation of the fiduciary range that took place in 2012 showed that the methodical introduction of a new range of paper money can be painless for the economy and provide it with certain advantages. More than ten years after this success, this article reviews the strategies put in place at the time to achieve it. It highlights the consolidation of macroeconomic stability and a communication strategy thanks to which the expectations of economic agents have ceased to be retrospective to become forward-looking.