New 500 in Salem, not city

The Karur Vyasa bank branch located at Agraharam Street in Salem created a stir by being the first in the state to release the new Rs. 500 notes on Wednesday.  Many customers who got the new notes happily posed with the currency and even posted it on social media, but then the bank officials were pulled up and the distribution stopped. The details of disbursal of the new currency has been kept  under wraps, as a security measure. 

“We have received one box of Rs five crore worth of Rs 500 notes. Most of the ATMs have been recalibrated for the distribution. We will be dispensing Rs 500 from Thursday,” a senior official of a nationalised bank said, while requesting anonymity. “The Rs 500 notes which are expected to be in larger circulation than the high value Rs 2,000 notes. Some banks have received the first batch already. Some are receiving them even as we speak,” another official said. The manager of a nationalised bank branch in Anna Salai said they had received no intimation so far. 

“Till now, the new notes have not yet reached any of the branches. We have no idea when it will be disbursed in the city, as no official information has reached us yet,” said the official. Private banks too have not received the new notes. An official from a private bank confirmed, “We are expecting the new notes to be available across the city and state soon. But till now, that has not happened,” said the source.