Pakistan plans to introduce polymer plastic currency notes soon

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recently announced it will change the designs of all currency notes soon.

Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, the SBP chief Jameel Ahmad was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune that the new-design notes will be introduced in December this year after approval from the federal cabinet.

He did not disclose the value of the plastic note.

At present, Pakistan has seven currency notes ranging from Rs. 10 to Rs. 5000 denominations.

"The central bank has decided to replace all currency notes from Rs10 to Rs5,000 with new-design currency notes," Ahmad told the committee as quoted by The Express Tribune.

"By December, all currencies will be introduced according to the new design. The federal cabinet will soon approve the introduction of the new currency design," he added.

At present 40 countries are using polymer plastic banknotes.

These were first introduced widely by Australia.

According to the Bank of England, these notes have enhanced security features, such as the see-through window and holograms. This makes them harder to counterfeit than paper notes.