Rs5000 note being discontinued? SBP governor clears the air

Islamabad: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmed on Wednesday dismissed rumours circulating on social media about the demonetisation of the Rs5000 currency note, calling them false and misleading.

The clarification was made during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue at the Parliament House, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla.

The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the SBP governor, and senior officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

“Reports circulating on social media claiming that the Rs5,000 note is being discontinued are fake,” Jameel Ahmed told the committee. “The Rs5,000 currency note is not being demonetised.”

The SBP governor informed lawmakers that the government is working on new designs for Pakistan’s currency notes, ranging from Rs10 to Rs5,000.

He said the proposed designs include enhanced security features and have already been reviewed by the SBP Board before being forwarded to the federal government.

“The final decision on issuing new currency notes rests with the federal cabinet,” he said, adding that the matter is currently under consideration and no final decision has been taken so far.

Responding to a question from the committee chairman about the new designs, the SBP governor said the central bank could brief the committee on the proposed designs during an in-camera session. The committee later decided to hold a closed-door briefing on the issue at its next meeting.

During the session, committee members also raised concerns over banks deducting charges from account holders for SMS alert services without prior consent. Members termed the practice illegal and urged the State Bank to take action against banks involved.

In response, the SBP governor said banks would face action if they deducted SMS alert charges without informing customers. He explained that telecom companies had increased SMS rates, which had led banks to pass on higher costs for the service.

However, committee members maintained that SMS alerts primarily benefit banks by saving time and operational costs, and should not result in unjustified charges for customers.