Windhoek

Bank Windhoek says it will only accept the Angolan kwanza banknote series of 2012 when it starts offering an exchange service for the currency at the Bank Windhoek Oshikango branch.

A Currency Conversion Agreement between the Bank of Namibia and the Angolan central bank on September 22 2014 has allowed commercial banks to offer a currency exchange between the kwanza and Namibian dollar.

Bank of Namibia and the Angolan central bank have earmarked June 18 as the launch date for the agreement.

“In recent years the restrictions on trading with the US dollar at Oshikango put enormous financial strain on businesses, with many having to close operations in the process. With the new agreement, Bank Windhoek is confident that business will improve and boost the local economy. The kwanza will only be available at our Oshikango branch, because of the high influx of Angolan citizens crossing the Oshikango border and the high volume of financial transactions between the two countries taking place in the area,” said Claire Hobbs, chief treasurer at Bank Windhoek. 

The agreement between the two central banks will allow businesses and traders to legally export either the Namibian dollar to Angola, or the kwanza to Namibia and exchange them into local currency for trading purposes.