Banks may not accept scribbled notes

TNN, KOLKATA: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to classify all "unclean" currency notes - which have any sort of inscription or scribbling on them - as "unfit for reissue" from January 1, 2014, triggering intense speculation on social media platforms and on the street.Indian currency notes, arguably, the dirtiest, most soiled and most perforated ones in the world.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is reversing the trend by pursuing aggressively its 'clean note policy.' The Central bank has asked all the banks that in the present system of mechanized processing of banknotes, 'inscriptions or scribbling on any part of the banknote would render it to be classified as unfit for reissue from January 1.

Social media platforms are rife with the rumor that banks would completely stop accepting all soiled notes, come 2014. So far, there has been no strong denial of these words. RBI officials only said that though banks would continue to accept soiled notes, the ones with most of the white space covered with scribbles would be considered "soiled and unfit for circulation". Banks have also been asked to train their staff to avoid writing anything on notes that reduce their life.

Though RBI is insisting that banks follow the "clean note policy", bank officials have turned the heat on customers. "How can we have clean notes if the customers keep producing notes with inscriptions and scribbles?" wondered a senior official of a nationalized bank. "It is impossible to implement the RBI's clean note policy only by singling out nationalized banks," he added.

Bank officials said that customers may have to pay a price for replacing soiled notes with fresh ones. The exchange value of soiled notes would be paid in coins or notes of denomination of Rs 10 and above across the counter. "Any note with slogans and messages of a political nature written across it ceases to be legal tender and a claim on such a note will be rejected. Similarly, notes which are disfigured may also be rejected. The notes which are found to be deliberately cut or tampered with, if presented for payment of exchange value, will be rejected," read the RBI circular.

The RBI circular to banks underlines that all the currency chest branches are required to display at their branch premises, at a prominent place, a board indicating the availability of note-exchange facility with the legend "mutilated notes are accepted and exchanged here". Banks should ensure that all their designated branches provide facilities for exchange of notes and coins and place details of designated branches in the public domain.

In most bank branches, the practice of scribbling on banknotes is in vogue. The biggest culprits, said a saource, are the cashiers themselves - they note down the total number of notes in a bundle on the white watermark window of the topmost note when deposited by customers.

This, he does is to keep a track on the number of notes since there is no other provision. Normally, this practice would have not been observed by bankers, who otherwise have to guard against defacing of the currency notes.

ATMs face problem in identifying notes with scribbles on them. The RBI has installed high-speed currency verification and processing systems (CVPS) machines at all its offices which deal with currency. These machines are capable of processing 50,000-60,000 pieces per hour and soiled notes are often shredded, said an RBI official.

It's common practice that people usually write on the watermark window of currency notes. There is hardly any Indian who has not come in possession of a currency note used by people for everything - from confessing their love to giving out their congratulatory messages. People often scribble their names on them.

Writing names on currency notes has perhaps come down from our rulers. Having their own names printed on notes and coins has been the ultimate fantasy of rulers since time immemorial. Rulers across all periods have attempted to make their names immortal by placing their faces and names on currency tools, said social scientist Dr Pradip Chakraborty.