(WINN)—The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is set to begin phasing out the current EC dollar notes bearing the image of the British monarchy.

Governor Timothy Antoine recently confirmed that a transition will begin sometime next year.

“We are getting closer and closer. The council, as the prime minister said, did make a very important decision to replace the image of the UK or the British monarch with regional figures, as in our heroes.

So that decision has been made. It is going to be a phased approach, and we expect, in all likelihood, that the first set of notes will be revealed and made available in 2027. There may be a big reveal this year in terms of what you should expect.

We are toying with an idea around the 50th anniversary of the peg, which is in July, but we will see. But the actual circulation of the first set of notes with our images and likeness, our people, will start in 2027, and it will be phased over a period of time.”

A formal decision was taken back in 2023 to remove the likeness of Queen Elizabeth II and other monarchical symbols from the Eastern Caribbean dollar.

However, implementation was delayed because the central bank had already invested in printing a new series of Parliament notes featuring the existing design.

“Because what we also said was that because some of our notes are new, we did not want to simply just take them out of circulation. But as they come in and they get retired because they mutilated and so on, then we will introduce the new notes with our regional heroes, our regional images. So that is to come. Stay tuned. Hopefully we’ll have a big reveal later this year, ahead of the actual launch next year.”

Major reports indicate that the redesigned currency could be unveiled as early as July this year, ahead of the phase rollout.

The Eastern Caribbean dollar is used by eight member countries within the currency union, and the redesign represents more than just a cosmetic change.

It reflects a broad regional shift towards strengthening Caribbean identity and reducing symbolic ties to the British monarchy.

Several member states have been engaged in ongoing discussions about constitutional reform and deeper expressions of sovereignty, and the currency update is seen as part of that wider movement towards greater self-determination and regional pride.