The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) issued a clarification on Wednesday following an online controversy surrounding half-printed banknotes that surfaced the previous day, attributing the risk of such faults to the extensive printing and production of currency notes.
A video circulating on social media on Tuesday sparked outrage among Pakistanis, depicting half-printed Rs1000 banknotes. In the video, a man claiming to be the bank manager of National Bank of Pakistan’s (NBP) Model Colony branch in Karachi displayed two fresh banknotes with blank backsides.
Expressing uncertainty about the extent of the issue, he mentioned that these notes were returned by a customer, leading to their discovery. He proceeded to showcase another bundle, noting that similar instances occurred with notes in that stack, with each bundle containing two such half-printed notes.
In response, the central bank initially announced an investigation into the matter. Subsequently, it clarified that the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation implements robust mechanisms to segregate misprinted banknotes. However, it acknowledged the inherent risk of such faults in large-scale currency production.
The SBP emphasized the possibility of a few misprinted notes entering circulation despite stringent quality controls. It clarified that only 10 misprinted currency notes were identified among the cash bundles dispatched to the NBP branch, which constituted a negligible proportion compared to the total printed and distributed notes.
Furthermore, the SBP assured the public that individuals in possession of defective notes could exchange them for flawless ones at SBP’s Banking Services Corporation counters. The bank also affirmed its commitment to implementing internal controls to prevent similar malfunctions in the future.
