BOT responds to more complaints about Coronation banknotes

It was the second time the central bank has had to issue a statement about the special Bt100 and Bt1,000 notes, after last week assuring they were secure from counterfeiters thanks to sophisticated technology and designs.
BOT assistant governor Somboon Chitphentom on Monday dismissed claims the commemorative notes were issued in a quantitative easing measure to increase liquidity for the Covid-hit market.
He explained the currency issuance had been calculated to meet demand and supply in the market.
He also denied rumours that the notes were not backed by central bank reserves – assets such as gold and hard foreign currencies. The central bank had adequate assets to back up the issuance, he said. The value of the commemorative bills totals Bt12 billion, or just 0.6 per cent of the total Bt2 trillion worth of banknotes in circulation, he added.
He also responded to queries of whether the commemorative banknotes could be exchanged for foreign currencies. He said the notes were valid for all normal financial transactions, but foreign banks had the right to deny any notes for money exchange.
On the issue of ATM deposit machines not accepting the commemorative bills, he said the machines would have to be reprogrammed to do so. But people could exchange commemorative banknotes for normal bills at any commercial or state-owned bank.
The central bank placed the commemorative banknotes in ATMs to give people easy access in case they want to collect them, he added. A total of 10 million Bt1,000 and 20 million Bt100 commemorative banknotes went into circulation on December 12. They have been dogged by criticism they are hard to tell apart and prone to counterfeiting.