ISLAMABAD:
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is planning to redesign all banknotes, incorporating modern security features, and is also considering introducing plastic banknotes on a trial basis, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad said.
Ahmad told a parliamentary committee that the SBP board finalized the designs for all the new denominations and sent them to the federal government for final approval, which is now expected. He added that modern technology will be incorporated in the design of the new banknotes.
Ahmed clarified that there is no proposal to withdraw the Rs 5,000 note. Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Rashid Langrial said tampering with the high denomination currency note could destabilize the economy.
However, Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs, Statistics and Privatization Chairman Saleem Mandviwala said the matter is now closed following the governor’s assurances.
The committee also discussed SMS charges levied on ATM transactions. Mandviwala said consumers are charged for SMS alerts. The governor explained that mandatory alerts are free, while charges apply only to additional service messages.
He added that the fees are collected directly by the telecom companies and the SBP does not receive any share. He further revealed that SMS charges by telcos have increased from Rs 0.04 to over Rs 4 per message in the last two years.
