On 15 May 2026, long and exhausting queues formed outside Sudanese banks as the deadline approached for exchanging old 500- and 1,000-pound notes. Al Hadath reported that thousands rushed to deposit or replace their cash, while citizens complained of slow procedures and scarce liquidity. The exchange was due to end at 6 p.m. that day.
On the informal market, one million pounds in old notes could fetch only about 800,000 in new money or transfers, while some shops and fuel stations rejected the old currency before the official deadline. Banks continued opening accounts for people who had none, but withdrawals were restricted. A person's place in this queue was not a matter of convenience; it was a race against a deadline determining whether cash retained its face value.