New currency vendors at Gorakhpur's bank road a one stop for all money matters

Retail shops common the rescue of common man to exchange old soiled currency notes during marriage season. Working on a 10 percent commission model, these shops at the prominent 'bank road' exchange old notes of Rs 10, 20, 50, 100 notes. They also deal in foreign currency.

Gorakhpur: Vendors selling fruit or vegetables on roadsides are common but in Gorakhpur, bundles of cash put on tables for exchange with old currency notes generate curiosity of passersby. The strange sight is of a prominent road here in the city during marriage season. The shops work on a commission model, charging Rs 100 to Rs 150 for every Rs 1,000 bundle.

They keep bundles of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50 and Rs 100 each worth Rs 1,000 to exchange them with bundles of same denomination and amount of old notes. With marriage season at its peak, people need cash for various functions involved. The common practice to get cash or exchange rugged notes is to visit any nearby bank branch. however, with the cash crunch at the RBI, these commissioned and unlicensed shops have come to the rescue of the common masses.

The shops heavily decorated with stacks of cash dot the bank road where big banks have their branches. The money exchange takes place right in front of the branches of the State Bank, Central Bank, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank, and Indian Overseas Bank. Vijay Prakash Mishra, a resident of Kushinagar, cames all the way to Gorakhpur, to get Rs 1000 in cash. First, he was disappointed as he couldn't get cash from the banks, but with a minimal commission, he got it from the outlets dealing with cash notes.

Talking to ETV Bharat, Sonu and Sunil, who run money exchange shops here, said that they do this business at a total of 10 percent of commission. From which 8 percent is deposited in the bank and only two percent comes to them. They said that they had acquired license to run the shop.

On the other hand, Sanjeev Kumar, Deputy General Manager at State Bank's Administrative Office said that the banks have stocks of cash and whoever comes for exchanging notes or to avail cash is provided that. Talking over the phone, he further said that the banks have stopped providing licenses to retail shops for dealing with the exchange of foreign currency or Indian cash. Meanwhile, LB Jha, regional manager of the Central Bank, reiterated the fact that retail shops arrange for cash from other sources and are not certified retailers of cash.