Confusion over Rs 10 coins puts Vellore traders in a fix
Shanmughasundaram J
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Vellore
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After the angst over demonetisation of `1,000 and `500 notes, the confusion over whether `10 coins are legal tender is adding to the woes of the public, traders and bankers.For the last few days, traders and commercial establishments in Vellore have stopped accepting `10 coins, fearing its genuineness. Though the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) struck down rumours that fake `10 coins were being circulated in large quantities, banks refusing to accept the coins for more than a week now has increased apprehensions.
Bank staff said their work burden has increased post-demonetisation and they were restrained from receiving the coins in large numbers. “We have machines to count currency notes and detect their genuineness. But, this is not the case with coins. If a customer brings `10 coins for thousands of rupees, we have to count it manually . We do not have the luxury of time nor the manpower to do it,“ said a senior officer of State Bank of India, Vellore, seeking anonymity .
“We have pouches for `10 and `5 coins (100 coins in each pouch). We are trying to circulate the coins, but the public are refusing to accept it,“ said staff of a private bank. He added that the coins were not invalid. But, poor communication and rumours had virtual ly nullified the face value of the `10 coins.
Even Aavin outlets and cooperative supermarkets in Vellore desist from receiving the coins. It has sent a wrong signal to the common man.Many shopkeepers, traders and merchants in the city , who accumulated the coins totalling several thousands of rupees, feel that the coins are “dead weight“ now.
A senior official of Indian Bank, which is also the LEAD Bank, said, “The RBI is minting coins to facilitate the traders and merchants. We circulate them. We don't have sufficient space to stock coins in the chest.“ He said `10 coins were valid legal tender and it was an offence not to accept it.
“The banks are refusing to accept the `10 coins. When I went to deposit coins worth `12,000 that we collected from our customers, the bank staff refused to accept it. Since then, we stopped receiving the coins from our customers,“ said an employee of a private firm.
Bank staff said their work burden has increased post-demonetisation and they were restrained from receiving the coins in large numbers. “We have machines to count currency notes and detect their genuineness. But, this is not the case with coins. If a customer brings `10 coins for thousands of rupees, we have to count it manually . We do not have the luxury of time nor the manpower to do it,“ said a senior officer of State Bank of India, Vellore, seeking anonymity .
“We have pouches for `10 and `5 coins (100 coins in each pouch). We are trying to circulate the coins, but the public are refusing to accept it,“ said staff of a private bank. He added that the coins were not invalid. But, poor communication and rumours had virtual ly nullified the face value of the `10 coins.
Even Aavin outlets and cooperative supermarkets in Vellore desist from receiving the coins. It has sent a wrong signal to the common man.Many shopkeepers, traders and merchants in the city , who accumulated the coins totalling several thousands of rupees, feel that the coins are “dead weight“ now.
A senior official of Indian Bank, which is also the LEAD Bank, said, “The RBI is minting coins to facilitate the traders and merchants. We circulate them. We don't have sufficient space to stock coins in the chest.“ He said `10 coins were valid legal tender and it was an offence not to accept it.
“The banks are refusing to accept the `10 coins. When I went to deposit coins worth `12,000 that we collected from our customers, the bank staff refused to accept it. Since then, we stopped receiving the coins from our customers,“ said an employee of a private firm.
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