The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said it could take up to a year to introduce new currency notes even after approval from the federal cabinet committee.
SBP Deputy Governor Muhammad Ali Malik shared the timeline during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla in Islamabad on August 25.
Rs5,000 Note Costs Rs14 to Produce
Responding to a question from Senator Abdul Qadir, Malik said producing a Rs5,000 currency note costs around Rs14.
He also said the SBP had recommended discontinuing the Rs10 note. The denominations of any new currency notes, however, will be decided by the federal cabinet.
Committee chairman Saleem Mandviwalla expressed doubt that the new notes would be introduced during the current senators’ tenure.
New Security Measures Planned
Officials told the committee that the design of the new currency notes would initially be prepared manually before being transferred to machine production.
The committee also raised concerns about counterfeit currency and questioned what measures would prevent the reproduction of new notes.
Officials said the currency production process would be significantly changed, with new measures expected to make counterfeiting considerably more difficult.
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