International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology Vol. 3 No. 4; April 2013 1 Ghanaians’ Perception and Evaluation of the New Ghana Cedi Annabella Opare-Henaku Department of Psychology Virginia Commonwealth University 806 West Franklin Street P.O. Box 842018 Richmond, VA 23284-2018, USA. Edwin Clifford Mensah Department of Economics, Finance, and Decision Sciences University of North Carolina at Pembroke One University Drive P.O. Box 1510 Pembroke, NC 28372-1510, USA. Vivian A. Dzokoto Department of African American Studies Virginia Commonwealth University 1000 West Franklin Street P.O. Box 842509 Richmond, VA 23284-2509, USA. Abstract The current study was conducted 6 months after the New Ghana cedi became the sole legal tender in Ghana. Given that this was 6 months after the dual-currency use period, Ghanaians actually had used the new currency for at least 12 months before our data collection. Our goal was to assess personal experiences using quantitative method. Results revealed both positive and negative consequences of switching the currency. Portability, security and the ease of transactions were some of the reported benefits associated with the currency modification while the fear of misplacement, the possibility of counterfeits, increased cost of living, difficulty in calculating change and the inadequate supply of notes and coins were found to some of the reported downsides of the exercise. We also found that unmet expectations for the currency may explain level of satisfaction with the currency redenomination. 1. Introduction Currency redenomination is not a new phenomenon. The 1923 redenomination in Germany which led to the cutting of twelve zeros during a period of hyperinflation marked the first documented redenomination in recorded history. Many countries including nineteen developing and transition nations have subsequently used redenomination on an occasion, while ten countries have redenominated twice; sometimes, with many years in between, as in Bolivia, in 1963 and 1987. In other cases, the series of re-denominations followed rather quickly, as in Peru in 1985 and 1991 (Mosley, 2005). 2. Overview of Ghana’s Redenomination In 2007, the Ghanaian government, in consultation with the Bank of Ghana (BOG) overhauled the county’s monetary system as part of the strategic economic reform aimed at strengthening the fundamentals of Ghana’s economy. The old currency (Cedi) was redenominated in the summer of 2007 with a conversion rate of one Ghana Cedi (new currency) to ten thousand Cedis (old currency). Proponents of the currency redenomination argued that daily transactions using the Cedi (Ghana’s old currency) had become difficult and cumbersome due to the devaluation of the Ghanaian currency coupled with a hike in commodity prices.