Concerns over ATMs not Accepting New Notes

Concerns over ATMs not Accepting New Notes

Even as the whole nation is in a state of euphoria over the total end of the unprecedented blockade of Qatar following the 41st session of the Supreme Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, some people have raised undue concerns over the fact that ATMs are (at least at the moment of posting this) not accepting the new bank notes.

The new paper currency was rolled out by the Qatar Central Bank in a phased manner from 18th December through the 5th series of notes which will be worth QAR20bn by the time the entire circulation is put out by the end of January 2021.

QatarDay spoke to some bank officials in this regard and speaking on condition of anonymity they did accept that although the problem does exist - banks have made no bones about it, as notices have been posted on deposit accepting ATMs that the machines will not be accepting the new currency.

Surender Iyer, an IT expert who deals in the programing of ATMs machines and is based in Bengaluru - the Silicon Valley of India told me over a telephonic chat that there are several reasons why generally ATMs do not accept  certain types of currency.

Firstly, not all ATMs have a deposit facility and only allow customers to withdraw money. People unaware of this basic fact tend to get unduly frustrated!

Secondly, ATMs have been designed and programmed to accept certain type of currencies only and will not accept bank notes that the software in the ATMs fails to recognize. This is done basically to prevent fake or unacceptable bank notes being deposited in the machines,

Thirdly, as in most probably, the current ATM machines in Qatar have been designed and programmed to accept the old notes and it will is only a matter of time before the ATMs will either be replaced or new software uploaded into the machines  which will then recognize and accept new currency notes.

Till then, for those in an urgent hurry to deposit the new bank notes into their accounts can go to their bank head office or to any of its branches and have the money deposited to their account or that of a beneficiary through the bank cashier counters.

As matters stand, there is no real cause for concern and new bank notes are being accepted at the bank counters and as the IT expert has suggested its only matter of time before the ATMs will start accepting even the new bank notes.

Till then, our advice to those who insist on depositing the money ONLY through ATMs is to take a chill pill and directly walk into the bank and deposit their crisp new beautifully designed new Qatari currency notes through the cashier.

And as this beloved nation has time and again proved that it has been highly successful in facing and resolving multiple issues in a highly patient and dignified manner (as is the case in the current lifting of the blockade), this tiny discomfort to bank depositors will eventually be solved in a timely and reliable manner in the not so distant future.