ISLAMABAD – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced the plan of replacing all currency notes of the country in this year.
SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed told Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance in a meeting, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwala.
The governor stated that the central bank is moving forward with replacing all notes. The process of replacing the notes is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
We are preparing to introduce new polymer currency notes. In the first phase, there is a proposal to introduce one currency note on polymer paper for testing its security features, lifespan and other factors. “This will be prepared and sent to the Cabinet for approval,” he said.
He also noted that a number of advanced features have been introduced in the world for preventing counterfeit notes.
The SBP governor said if the trial is successful, other currency notes will also be replaced over the time, adding that the central bank might not issued them if new currency notes failed the test.
Committee member Mohsin Aziz suggested that the Rs5,000 currency note is contributing to corruption and it should be discontinued.
The SBP governor replied that there is no proposal currently under consideration to discontinue the Rs5,000 note.
Expected Launch Date of New Currency Notes in Pakistan
The governor told the Senate committee that the process of replacing the currency notes will be completed by December 2024. However, he did not give any date in this regard.
