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Rush for new currency cools
Cape Coast, Jan.2, Ghanadot/GNA-The rush by the public to
have their old currencies changed for the new, has gradually
died down in banks in the Cape Coast municipality.
There were no queues at most banks the GNA visited on
Wednesday, with pockets of people, particularly children
trickling in to have their money changed.
At the Cape Coast Main branch of the Ghana Commercial Bank,
the Manager, Mr Eric Amar, said from December 24th to 31st
the bank had changed a total amount of GH¢103,062,770.00 and
was hopeful that many more people would turn up.
He said the bank did not restrict the changing of the money
to only its customers but served everyone who walked into
the bank to have his or her money changed, adding that that
people were changing more coins than the notes.
Mr Amar said the bank was not also forcing people to open
accounts with it before their monies were changed but he
however, encouraged people to develop the habit of saving
their money with banks.
Touching on the lack of new pesewa coins in the system, he
said, he had directed his staff to pay people with more
coins and advised the public to accept them, stressing that,
that was the only way the coins could move into the system
and advised the public to handle the new notes with care to
enable them to last long.
At the Agricultural Development Bank, Mr. Mac Patrick
Agbecornu, the Manager said the bank has so far changed a
total amount of GH¢13,510, and reminded the public that the
old currency was no longer legal tender and that those who
were still keeping them should endeavour to have them
changed.
He said there was no need for them to rush to have their
money changed, since there was no deadline for that, and
also advised the public to handle the new notes with care by
using purses instead of squeezing them into their clothes,
since they were very expensive to print.
At the SG.SSB, the Manager, Mr Ransford Darfour, could not
readily give the amount changed so far, but said the bank
had changed a lot of the old currency, particularly on
December 31, and had even designated a teller to solely take
care of the changing of the old currency.
He expressed concern about the fact that people kept their
monies until the last minute and encouraged everyone to have
their old currencies changed, since they would not be
charged any fee for the exercise.
Mrs Marian Amandoh, Barclays bank manager could not also
give the total amount changed so far but said everything was
moving on smoothly and advised those who were still having
the old currency in their possession to have them changed at
the bank.
GNA
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