Exchange houses in Qatar to start getting new Indian currency from Jan 1

Exchange houses in Qatar to start getting new Indian currency from Jan 1

QLBusiness
By QLBusiness

The demonetisation of Rs500 and Rs1,000 denominations had hit expatriate Indians in the country quite hard.

Exchange houses in the country, which did not have supply of the new currency, had stopped trading in it. However, it seems like things are about to change for the better.

Qatar Tribune cited industry sources as saying that the new Rs500 and Rs2,000 notes will start arriving in Qatar in bulk starting January 1.

Indian currency notes to Qatar are legally sourced from exchange houses in Dubai and Bahrain. It seems they have informed their clients in Doha to expect new notes beginning January 1.

The flow of Indian currency to Qatar had halted after November 8, when the Indian government made a sudden announcement to scrap Rs.500  and Rs.1,000 notes.

India, which is grappling with a crippling shortage of newer currency notes, are only gradually starting to send them outside the country.

Adarsh Shenawa, currency expert at Al Zaman Exchange, was quoted by Qatar Tribune as saying that new Indian notes were on their way soon.

“Our source offices in Dubai and Bahrain have informed us that the Indian government is expected to export new notes from January 1. Once they receive the new notes, they’ll be in a position to sell it to exchange houses in Qatar. We should be able to serve our customers with new Indian notes from the first week of January,” he said.

However, lack of machines that can count new currencies could further hit its wide availability. The new currencies are different in size to their predecessors and more features have also been added to it. 

By britexpat• 27 Dec 2016 20:43
britexpat

@engr123: Many thanks .. my point was that the article says Indians have been hit hard .. But realistically we are talking about 300 - 500 QR

By samun• 27 Dec 2016 15:28
samun

@Britexpat, those with huge amount of cash would have organised themselves by now. For those with few cash can still Deposit by end of December 2016.

By engr123• 27 Dec 2016 14:09
engr123

@britexpat: Expat Indians can legally take a maximum of 25,000 Rupees out of India. Most people keep something around 3 to 5 thousand with them for immediate expenses like taxis while returning to India. But major inconvenience is for those who traveled to India for emergencies like marriages, funerals, medical emergencies. There was a daily and weekly limit imposed on withdrawal of cash from the banks and ATMs and there was endless queues at banks and ATMs. So many ended up spending their short vacation entirely at the banks.

By Molten Metal• 27 Dec 2016 09:01
Molten Metal

Indians are in queue from the last month .......... so tough for them ..................

By britexpat• 27 Dec 2016 09:06
britexpat

As an outsider, I am curious as to how this has "hit expatriate Indians in the country quite hard."..

Do Indian expats here keep large amounts of Indian currency with them ?

By muad-db• 27 Dec 2016 07:49
muad-db

This is good news for all Indians - Joys

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