While people eagerly scrambled to collect crisp new banknotes ahead of Eid, the same fresh notes have now become a source of frustration for the public. Even three weeks after the holiday, commuters are struggling to purchase metro tickets as vending machines refuse to accept the new bills, and cash recycling machines (CRMs) are also rejecting them for deposits. Yet, the central bank and responsible institutions seem slow to react.

Ahead of Eid, on June 2, Bangladesh Bank released newly printed 20, 50, and 1000 taka notes into circulation. People went to great lengths to obtain these new notes at the time. Now, however, the new currency has turned into a widespread inconvenience. Metro passengers report that vending machines are consistently rejecting the fresh bills, forcing them into difficult situations.

The issue isn’t limited to metro stations. Bank customers are also facing trouble when trying to deposit the new notes into CRMs, which are not recognizing the updated currency.

A young man named Rafique shared his experience: “I came to deposit the new notes at an ATM booth, but it didn’t work. Now, I’ll need to go to my bank to exchange the notes and return to the booth to complete the deposit. This is a major hassle.”

Another user, Zahid, said: “When trying to deposit the new notes, the booth kept asking me to re-enter my account number repeatedly, but it still didn’t work. These new notes have become a big problem.”

Bangladesh Bank has acknowledged that many of the machines have not yet been updated with the software required to identify the new bills, causing this ongoing disruption. Spokesperson Arif Hossain said they are working with the companies that manage the vending and ATM systems to resolve the issue. He mentioned that it could take about another 15 days to fully fix the problem.