The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has warned that making so-called "money bouquets" using banknotes constitutes illegal currency defacement and could result in criminal prosecution ahead of Valentine's Day.
According to Africa News, BBC, and other international media outlets, the CBK stated on February 2 that attaching glue, staples, or pins to banknotes to create bouquet arrangements constitutes currency defacement.
The CBK emphasized that such acts are crimes punishable by up to seven years in prison. The bank also noted that damaged banknotes cause unnecessary public costs by causing malfunctions in ATMs and currency counting machines.
However, the CBK clarified it does not oppose giving cash as gifts and recommended presenting money in ways that do not cause physical damage.
In Kenya, a major global flower producer and exporter, expectations are rising that this measure will boost real flower bouquet sales ahead of Valentine's Day. Local reactions have been positive, noting the policy could both prevent currency defacement and stimulate the flower industry.
Warnings and crackdowns on currency defacement are intensifying across Africa, not just in Kenya. In Nigeria, where scattering money at weddings and parties is customary, authorities recently arrested individuals after videos showing people throwing and stepping on cash circulated online. Ghana has also issued warnings against repeatedly folding banknotes to create "money cakes."
In South Korea, money bouquets are widely used as cash gift events for special occasions such as graduations, Parents' Day, and 70th or 80th birthday celebrations. A search for the hashtag "money bouquet" on Instagram yields approximately 248,000 posts, indicating the practice has become an established cultural norm.
Analysts suggest a preference for cash gifts underlies this spread of money bouquet culture. According to a survey conducted last year by Lotte Members' research platform Lime, polling 2,000 men and women aged 20 to 60 nationwide, pocket money ranked first (70.8%) among desired Parents' Day gifts in a multiple-response question. This was followed by clothing (25.1%), travel packages (24.3%), health foods (22.1%), and carnations (16.7%).
Cash also topped the list of gifts respondents wanted to give their parents at 83.9%, followed by health foods (52.1%), clothing (32.5%), health appliances (20.1%), and travel packages (16.9%). Some 56.8% of respondents said they planned to give Parents' Day gifts or cash.
Meanwhile, under South Korea's Bank of Korea Act, anyone who melts, crushes, compresses, or otherwise damages coins issued by the Bank of Korea for commercial purposes without authorization faces up to one year in prison or fines up to 10 million won. This regulation applies only to coins issued by the Bank of Korea, meaning banknote defacement is not subject to separate criminal penalties.