Deadline: Old-design banknotes to be demonetised from December

KARACHI:

Old-design banknotes will cease to be legal tender with effect from December 1, 2016, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Wednesday.

“It has now been decided to phase out all remaining old-design banknotes of Rs10, Rs50, Rs100 and Rs1,000. The Rs5 banknote and the old-design Rs500 banknote have already been demonetised,” it said.

The SBP issued a new-design banknote series, which started with the issuance of the Rs20 denomination banknote in 2005 to improve the security, durability and aesthetic quality of banknotes. The process of issuance of a complete series of new-design banknotes comprising eight denominations -- Rs5, Rs10, Rs20, Rs50, Rs100, Rs500, Rs1,000 and Rs5,000 -- was completed in 2008.

Commercial/microfinance banks will accept the old-design banknotes of Rs10, Rs50, Rs100 and Rs1,000 and exchange the same with the new-design banknotes and coins of all denominations up to November 30.

However, the SBP Banking Services Corporation (BSC) field offices will continue to accept the old-design banknotes of Rs10, Rs50, Rs100 and Rs1,000 from the general public up to December 31, 2021.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2016.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.