The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) through its subsidiary SBP Banking Services Corporation (SBP BSC) has relaunched the SMS service for issuance of fresh currency notes to general public. The fresh currency notes will be available from designated commercial bank branches called "e-branches" and the 16 field offices of SBP BSC.
The branch ID for e-branch is different from the existing branch/SWIFT code of banks. The issuance of fresh currency through mobile SMS service will commence from 1st June and continue till 14th June, 2018. The service will be provided through 1,535 e-branches in 132 cities across Pakistan to ensure maximum geographical coverage. The charges for the service are Rs 1.50 plus tax, per SMS.
The branch IDs of designated e-branches are available at SBP, PBA and commercial banks' websites and will also be displayed prominently outside designated e-branches. Under this facility, a person may send an SMS message comprising his/her 13 digits CNIC/smart card number along with the desired e-branch ID to short code 8877.
In return, the person will receive an SMS containing redemption code, e-branch address and the code validity period. Redemption code received by the customer will be valid for two (2) working days as per the mentioned dates in the SMS.
The customer may then approach the concerned e-branch along with his/her original CNIC/smart card, a photocopy of the CNIC/smart card and transaction code received from 8877 to obtain fresh currency notes. An individual can obtain three (3) packets of Rs 10 and one (1) packet each of Rs 50 & Rs 100 as per availability of stock.
It has also been notified that each CNIC/smart card number or mobile phone number can only be used once. No transaction code will be issued to the sender in case he/she sends the same CNIC/smart card number from different mobile numbers or sends different CNIC/smart card numbers from same mobile number during the service. For any queries/complaints, SBP BSC has also set up a help desk for general public. The help desk facility will only be available during office hours.