No new 100, 500 baisa notes this Eid in Oman

Business Sunday 19/June/2016 23:02 PM
By: Times News Service
No new 100, 500 baisa notes this Eid in Oman

Muscat: Fresh banknotes of the denomination of 100 and 500 Omani baisas will not be available this year, an official at the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) said ahead of the Eid Al Fitr holidays.
The decision was taken to cut the cost of printing millions of new money bills, and also to reduce the traffic which hits Ruwi’s Central Business District (CBD) ahead of Eid Al Fitr, according to the bank official.
However, he said, the bank will make sure that people can have clean and relatively new banknotes of 100 and 500 baisas.
In the Sultanate of Oman and some other Arab countries, people greet little children and relatives by giving them (Eidiyah) a portion of unused currency notes.
“People can still get fresh notes of the denomination of OMR1, OMR5 and OMR10,” the source confirmed.
Commemorative note
It is worth mentioning that the OMR1 commemorative banknote which was issued on the occasion of the 45th National Day is now available in the market.
Earlier, the commemorative note had a date error, but it was fixed in the new edition.
Eid Al Fitr is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to mark the end of Ramadan.
Muslims are not permitted to fast on the first day of Eid Al Fitr.