KATHMANDU, Sept 14: New banknotes exchange for upcoming festivals began from Wednesday.
The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has said that one can exchange new notes worth up to Rs 27,000 per person. People can get exchange service of smaller denomination banknotes from the exchange counters of Currency Management Department of the NRB. State-owned banks are also providing such service to general public.
Nepal Bank Ltd (NBL), Rastriya Banijya Bank Ltd (RBBL) and Agricultural Development Bank Ltd (ADBL) are also offering exchange of old banknotes with crisp banknotes of smaller denominations through their branch offices in Kathmandu Valley. One can get crisp bills of Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50 and Rs 100 denominations worth a maximum of Rs 20,000 per person from branch offices of these state-owned banks
Public starts getting new banknotes for Dashain
The central bank, however, has reduced the upper limit of cash that an individual can exchange this year. Last year, the NRB had provided exchange facility for up to Rs 32,000 per person.
People outside the Kathmandu Valley will get such service from the offices of the central bank across the country as well as commercial banks operating note vaults of the central bank.
Amid concerns that the building housing the NRB's office in Thapathali after demolition could lead to shortage of crisp banknotes, the central bank has said that it has made arrangements to provide exchange service like previous years.
As the demand for new banknotes goes up in the festive season due to customary practice of offering new banknotes while conducting Pooja or receiving Tika, the central bank provides exchange facility of such bills to the public. People can be seen queuing up at the bank offices to get crisp banknotes for the festival.
The central bank has said that people can exchange new banknotes from NBL's New Road, Balaju, Patan Industrial Estate, Kirtipur and Bhaktapur branch offices. Similarly, such crisp banknotes will also be available for exchange through the RBBL's Singhdurbar Plaza Bhawan, Teku, New Baneshwar, Sano Thimi, Bishal Bazaar and Naxal branches, while ADBL's Gaushala, Koteshwar, Ramshah Path, Ratnapark and Mangal Bazaar branch offices will also distribute new bills to the public for the festive occasion.
NRB provides exchange of only 100-piece bundle of banknotes of Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50 and Rs 100 denominations.
