Transaction Cancelled! This is one of the messages bank customers have been getting when trying to withdrawal money in denominations of Sh. 500, Sh. 100 or Sh. 200.
While some banks have been courteous to explain to their customers why this is the case, others haven’t bothered at all.
For instance, at Family Bank’s Ol Kalou Branch ATM, the bank has put up a notice indicating that it is having a shortage of Sh. 500 and Sh. 200 notes. The bank further advices its customers to withdraw cash only in multiples of Sh. 1,000.
At Equity Bank’s Ol Kalou Branch ATM, which is a few metres away, there is no notice indicating a shortage of notes. However, customers have been struggling to withdraw money that includes denominations of Sh. 500, Sh. 100, or Sh. 200. The common response is ‘Transaction Cancelled!’ However, withdrawals in multiples of Sh. 1,000 are often successful.
According to the notice board at the Family Bank ATM, the shortage of these denominations is due to the on-going transition from the current currency that bears the portrait of the first president of Kenya Jomo Kenyatta to one that doesn’t have an individual’s face or portrait.
The printing of a new-look currency to meet a constitutional requirement will cost the country Sh18 billion. This mount will be required to withdraw the currency now in circulation over a three-year period. The Cabinet gave the CBK the go-ahead to develop and begin rolling out the new notes in February last year.
Have you been experiencing the same problems when trying to withdraw from your ATM?