2.4 mln SMS received to get fresh currency notes : SBP

ISLAMABAD: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has received a weighty response from public against SMS service (8877) as so far 2.4 million requests have been received countrywide for fresh currency notes.

The increase in service’s usage was seen due to increasing awareness of the public through social media and the availability of the mobile phone service.

The central bank appreciated interest shown by general public in its SMS service for getting fresh notes for Eid.

The Central Bank had announced to issue fresh currency notes to general public from June 1 to 14 for Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations and during first five days massive response was received through SMS.

The SBP and Pakistan Banks Association had set up SMS short code service for those who intend to get fresh currency notes.

The SMS service was launched on May 31 and arrangements have been made at 1535 branches in 132 cities as compared to 1018 branches nominated in 120 cities on last Eid-ul-Fitr in 2017.

Apart from this SMS service, banks may continue to provide fresh notes to their customers from their branches and ATMs as sufficient quantity is being provided to them.

The total booking limit of 2.7 million customers has also been increased this year by 50 per cent as compared to 1.8 million last year.

The total capacity of this system is constrained by number of customers that branches can accommodate on each day and the store of fresh notes available with SBP BSC which is also linked with the capacity to print.

At present, more than 86 per cent of bookings have been issued to members of general public.

This service is available 24/7 hours and it is expected that system will reach full limit in next couple of days.

Accordingly, bookings would be closed once the targeted figure of 2.7 million is achieved.

Bookings will be gradually closed in cities where branches will reach their full capacity utilization.

However, the issuance of fresh notes against already issued booking codes will continue till last day of service until June 14, subject to code’s validity.

The status of all branches where booking is still available is continuously updated at websites. The general public is, therefore, requested to check branch status before sending messages to avoid charges and inconvenience.