ISLAMABAD:
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) plans to redesign all currency notes with modern security features and is also considering introducing plastic currency notes on a trial basis, Governor Jameel Ahmad of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said.
Ahmad told a parliamentary committee that the SBP board has finalized designs for all new denominations and sent them to the federal government for final approval, which is now awaited. He added that modern technology will be embedded in both the design of the new notes.
Ahmed clarified that there is no proposal to withdraw the Rs5,000 note. Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Rashid Langrial said tampering with the high-denomination note could destabilize the economy.
However, the chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue, Economics, Statistics and Privatization, Saleem Mandviwala, noted that the matter has now been closed following the governor’s assurance.
The committee also discussed SMS charges imposed on ATM transactions. Mandviwala said consumers are charged for SMS alerts. The governor explained that mandatory alerts are free, while charges only apply to additional service notifications.
He added that charges are collected directly by telcos and SBP does not receive any share. He further revealed that SMS rates from telcos have increased from Rs0.04 to over Rs4 per message in the last two years.
