No Plan to Discontinue Rs5,000 Note, Says State Bank Governor

Karachi: Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Jameel Ahmad has clarified that there is no proposal under consideration to discontinue the Rs5,000 currency note, while informing a parliamentary committee that all currency notes are being redesigned with modern security features.

Briefing the committee, the SBP governor said the central bank has sent a proposal to the federal cabinet for the issuance of newly designed currency notes. He added that the SBP Board has finalized the designs of all denominations and forwarded them to the federal government for final approval.

According to Jameel Ahmad, the ultimate approval for the issuance of new currency notes now rests with the federal government. He said that the designs of all denominations are being changed and modern technology will be introduced in the printing and issuance of new notes. He also revealed that the introduction of plastic (polymer) currency notes is under consideration on an experimental basis.

Addressing speculation, the SBP governor categorically stated that there is no plan to abolish the Rs5,000 note.

During the meeting, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Rashid Mahmood Langrial warned that any move to tamper with the Rs5,000 note could cause economic instability. Committee Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla responded that since the SBP governor had clearly ruled out discontinuation of the note, the matter stood settled.

The committee also discussed the issue of SMS charges imposed by banks on ATM cash withdrawals and deposits. Saleem Mandviwalla noted that customers are being charged for SMS alerts. In response, the SBP governor clarified that no charges are applied to mandatory SMS alerts, while fees are charged only for additional services.

He further explained that these charges are paid directly to telecom companies and that the State Bank does not receive any share. The governor disclosed that over the past two years, SMS charges by telecom companies have increased from Rs0.04 to more than Rs4 per message. The committee chairman said telecom companies would now be summoned for further inquiry to determine the exact charges being collected.

Chairman FBR Rashid Mahmood Langrial emphasized that the promotion of technology should not result in financial harm to consumers.

The meeting also took up concerns regarding excessive paperwork and multiple signatures required during the bank account opening process. Additionally, a committee member raised questions about conducting trade with China, Russia, and other countries in currencies other than the US dollar. The SBP governor said trade with China in Chinese currency is already underway, while queries related to currency rollovers with the UAE fall under the purview of the Foreign Office.