SBP denies reports of issuing polymer currency notes

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) denied reports, circulating on social media and news channels, that it was issuing a new series of polymer currency notes. 

In a statement on Saturday, the central bank refuted the reports as 'unfounded and lacking merit'. According to the SBP, there are currently no plans or proposals to transition from paper to plastic (polymer) currency notes.

Read SBP expected to maintain rates at record 22%

The statement emphasised that the utilization of cotton-based paper for currency production remains the standard, with materials primarily sourced locally from Security Papers Limited – which uses mainly local raw materials.

The reports regarding the issuance of polymer currency notes come days after the recent controversy about the misprinting of Rs1,000 notes in circulation.

A one-minute video went viral earlier this week, showing no printing on the backside of a few Rs1,000 notes. The video maker, who did not appear on camera but identified himself with his voice in the background as a National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) branch manager in Model Colony, Karachi, displayed the misprinted notes in his hand.

A spokesperson for SBP – later on Wednesday - said that commercial banks and individuals who have received the one-sided printed notes can exchange them at the bank branches where they received the faulty notes. They can also exchange the notes at the designated 16 offices of the central bank nationwide.