The Hungarian National Bank presented the new design.
If you visited Hungary in the last 2 years, and also have been here before, you may noticed: our banknotes have changed. This is because the Hungarian National Bank renews the currency. They introduced the new 10,000 HUF in 2014, 20,000 last year, and now 5,000 and 2,000 are the next. The change spectacular in the color of the five thousand bill, but that’s not the main point. The renewal is needed for safety reasons: the current solutions have been somewhat out of date. So not only the color changes, but also the security features are expanding.
The Monetary Council of MNB decided on the renewal back in 2013, and the process will be completed until 2018. The new 2,000 and 5,000 banknotes are official currencies from 15 November, but they will be available from ATM only from next March. You can pay with the old 2,000 and 5,000 notes until 31 July 2017, and every Hungarian bank and post office exchange them for another 3 years. And don’t worry even if you miss both opportunities: Hungarian National Bank exchanges the money in nominal value for 20 years.
Oh, and don’t forget: you can pay with the old 20,000 forint until 31 December 2016, so if you have some, hurry up. Or chose the solutions mentioned above.