Plastic currency: Here are the pros and cons

All you wanted to know about the soon-to-be-introduced plastic currency

New Delhi, Dec 10: The government informed the Parliament on Friday that it intends to print plastic currency notes.

The process has started, the ministry of finance informed the Lok Sabha.

It has been decided to print banknotes based on plastic or polymer substrate (commonly used for banknotes in countries such as Nigeria, Chile, Nepal among others).

"The process of procurement has been initiated," Minister of State fo Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

Plastic notes were first issued in Australia to safeguard against counterfeiting.

In 2014 the government had informed the Lok Sabha about its intent to introduce plastic notes.

A field trial was undertaken at Kochi, Mysuru, Jaipur, Shimla and Bhubaneswar.

Let us find out what are the pros and cons of plastic notes:

The pros:

- Hard to counterfeit as security features are easier to verify
- Plastic notes last longer reducing replacement cost
- Notes are clearer because they are dirt and moisture resistant
- Notes are waterproof
- Environmental impact lower as notes last longer.

The cons:
- Higher production cost
- Difficult to fold
- Hard to count as they are slippery
- Huge cost to recaliberate ATMs as existing machines are not compatible

OneIndia News