Overview
- The State Bank of Pakistan formally proposed scrapping the Rs10 banknote in a briefing to the Senate Standing Committee on Finance on Tuesday, with Deputy Governor Dr Inayat Hussain describing the move as a cost-driven measure.
- The Rs10 denomination would not be withdrawn immediately but would be replaced by a Rs10 coin only when the SBP rolls out a full new series of banknotes, the central bank said.
- Lawmakers pressed the SBP on procurement and governance, with Senator Saleem Mandviwalla alleging that a consultant’s firm won design work without an open bidding process and asking for full bid records.
- The redesign is tied to security upgrades: officials said new notes will carry stronger security threads to curb counterfeiting and noted that fake Rs1,000 and Rs5,000 notes are currently more common; the Senate was also told printing a Rs5,000 note costs about Rs14.
- Timing remains unsettled because designs are still under a federal cabinet subcommittee review and the SBP told senators the rollout could take about one year even though earlier comments suggested a possible November–December 2026 issue window.