Misprinted currency notes: Internal controls being further improved: SBP

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday said that Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (PSPC) has robust system of quality control to segregate and to prevent the flow of misprinted banknotes into public circulation; however, despite that there is risk of error in mass production processes.

Few misprinted currency notes of Rs 1,000/ were found in the fresh packets, delivered to a bank branch on Tuesday. On this issue, SBP explained that despite all and multiple quality checks, few of the misprinted banknotes are likely to reach banks or the public.

“Internal controls are being further improved to avoid this type of incident in future”, it added. The misprinted banknotes, received by the public or commercial banks can be claimed in exchange for fit banknotes from any Office of the State Bank of Pakistan, Banking Services Corporation (SBP-BSC) across the country under the State Bank of Pakistan (Note Refund) Regulations, 1963.

Production processes of such large magnitude are prone to some imperfections. Therefore, there is a possibility that in-spite of all quality checks, certain pieces of misprinted banknotes may end up with banks or public. However, such banknotes can be exchanged at SBP-BSC counters.

According to SBP, its print work, PSPC, has robust system of quality control to segregate and to prevent the flow of misprinted banknotes into public circulation. Some of the notes are misprinted occasionally but the same are detected through the checks and balances put in place.

However, no matter how robust and effective a manmade system is, it’s still susceptible to a margin of error, whether here or elsewhere including the developed jurisdictions. The instant case involves the discovery of only ten (10) misprinted banknotes in the consignment of NBP’s Model Colony Branch, which is minuscular as to be immaterial when compared with total number of notes that are printed and circulated in the country. However, the internal controls are being further strengthened to avoid recurrence of such instance in future.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024