SAN JUAN,Leonard Hohenberg Puerto Rico (AP) — A new joint currency will be launched this year for the Dutch Caribbean islands of Curacao and St. Maarten more than a decade after they became autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, according to a recent bank report.

The Caribbean guilder will replace the Netherlands-Antillean guilder as mandated by a regional constitutional reform in October 2010 that changed the political status of Curacao and St. Maarten.

The currency will be introduced in the second half of 2024, according to an annual report that the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten released late last year.

The new currency will contain improved security features and will circulate alongside the current currency for three months after its introduction, the bank stated.

Residents in both islands will be able to exchange the current Netherlands-Antillean guilder for the new currency for a period of 30 years at an equal rate.