The Financial Express, 31 July 2012
The new-found business in exchanging worn-out and damaged currencies with new bank notes on the kerb market, though illegal, has thrived ahead of the Eid, as more than a hundred poor people are busy doing the trading at the city’s banking hub.
The people in a growing number are collecting the new bank notes from the retailers on streets around the Bangladesh Bank (BB) premises and other commercial banks in the city’s Motijheel and adjacent areas despite the risk of being cheated, as the central bank earlier in May last closed its currency exchange window on the security ground.
While visiting the areas on Monday, poorer men and women were found selling the new bank notes to pedestrians on the streets around the BB premises and the corporate branches of other commercial banks.
At the main entrance to the central bank, the retailers were charging about Tk 20 to 30 in profit for exchanging a bundle of 100 new bank notes of 100-taka denomination with old bank notes.
At least thirty to fifty people including beggars and hawkers were seen loitering in the area with bundles of new currency notes in their hands.
Fatema Begum, a woman in her 40s who hails from Gazipur and mainly begs in the city, said she somehow managed Tk 500 from her husband and invested it in selling the new bank notes collected from the central bank counter.
“Some BB staffers help us buy the bundles of bank notes in exchange for a commission of 2 or 5 per cent,” Fatema claimed.
However, the BB temporarily re-opened two counters Sunday, one for selling new currencies to the common people and the other for selling the currencies to government officials and journalists. The two counters will remain open till August 14 next.
Earlier the BB currency exchange window was closed as the central bank was listed as a KPI (Key Point Installation).
Though, BB governor Dr Atiur Rahman took some steps to take the banking service to the doorsteps of common people, he felt that the BB headquarters should not be involved with any public dealing which might cause insecurity of it.
The exchange of new currency notes with old ones is a concern of the country’s commercial banks, said BB officials.
Once, the people found it troublesome to go to the central bank to collect new bank notes. But now it has become more convenient for them to collect new notes against their damaged or worn-out ones from commercial banks in their locality, according to some BB officials.
The BB officials also confirmed that all the scheduled banks would be bound to take back damaged notes in exchange for new ones and give coins.
In the case of failure of a bank to comply with the decision, action would be taken against them, they warned.
Executive director of the BB Department of Currency Management, Dasgupta Asim Kumar, said, “We are monitoring the commercial banks’ services to the people in relation to the exchange of damaged notes with new ones.”
“We are sending several inspection teams to the commercial banks in guise of common people on a regular basis to get a clear picture of their service to the commoners,” Mr Kumar told the FE Monday.
However, the BB would ensure availability of fresh bank notes worth of Tk 175 billion, of which, Tk 110 billion was already given to the two BB counters and other commercial banks for circulation among the public, he said.
On the other hand, he said the BB premises should not be used by outsiders as a place for trading in currency notes. The new bank notes would be available only at its counters, he added.
It is also illegal to exchange bank notes with the public on the streets except banks, BB officials said.
They said punitive action would be taken against any BB official found guilty of helping the street traders in exchanging bank notes.
Bangladesh Economy 
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