Comment of Askat Mukamadiev, Head of NBK Department for Examination of Banknotes and Coins about exchange of damaged banknotes of the national currency

Branches of the National Bank of Kazakhstan (hereinafter – NBK) receive damaged banknotes for examination: damp, burnt and torn. All these banknotes are collected in fragments and restored. Since the beginning of the year, the NBK has exchanged 2,542 banknotes out of 3,079 accepted doubtful banknotes and coins.

If a banknote has retained more than 50% of its value, it can be handed over to NBK branches for examination to establish its authenticity and payability.

To do this, you need to carefully collect all the remaining fragments of a damaged bill. Never take them out of an envelope, wallet or other packaging in which they were stored. Otherwise, banknotes may be damaged even more and it will be more difficult to establish their authenticity and denomination. Damaged money should be wrapped in something soft and put in a box to maximize a storage area of ​​the damaged banknotes. Afterwards, they must be taken to a territorial branch of the National Bank for examination. Genuine banknotes that have retained the area required for exchange will be exchanged for new ones. The check will be free of charge but it can take a significant amount of time.

If a banknote has retained at least 70% of its size and signs (written or digital) indicating their denomination and having minor damage (if they do not interfere with identification of authenticity of the banknotes), it must be unconditionally exchanged for a usable banknote. These banknotes can be exchanged in all the second-tier banks, NBK branches and Kazpost JSC.

Please note that STBs can fix a fee for this service subject to internal regulatory documents.

Addresses and contacts of the regional branches are available on NBK website.