The Central Bank of Seychelles announced that a new version of the SCR 500 banknote will enter circulation from December 2025 and will be used alongside the current SCR 500 note. The change is driven by the discontinuation of the “Optiks thread” security feature used on the existing note. On the new note, the transparent oval “Optiks thread” element on the front will be replaced with a “holographic foil stripe” depicting a turtle swimming. The banknote remains within the same theme used for the banknote and coin series launched in 2016, “Unique Seychelles Biodiversity – pillar of our economy”, and most other features are unchanged, including the paper, the endemic flora and fauna depicted, and the note’s size and colour. Both versions of the SCR 500 note are to be accepted in financial transactions, and the central bank plans public education to help users recognise the new security elements.
Central Bank of Seychelles 2025-10-17
Central Bank of Seychelles to introduce a new SCR 500 banknote version alongside the existing note from December 2025
The Central Bank of Seychelles will introduce a new SCR 500 banknote in December 2025, featuring a "holographic foil stripe" instead of the "Optiks thread" for enhanced security. The new note retains the existing theme and most features, including size and colour, and will circulate alongside the current version. Public education initiatives will be launched to familiarize users with the new security elements.