No, the Rs 10 note is not being withdrawn: what the State Bank actually said

A message claiming the Rs 10 banknote is being discontinued, with a deadline to exchange it, spread across WhatsApp groups, Facebook and X this week. The State Bank of Pakistan has rejected it.

In a press release on 17 September 2026, SBP called the reports baseless and without substance, and said no decision has been taken on replacing or discontinuing any denomination.

What is true

SBP has submitted a proposal for a new banknote series, and it is with the Federal Cabinet for consideration. That is the grain of fact the rumour was built on.

A proposal is not a decision, and a new series does not by itself retire an old note. The two things have been conflated.

What SBP said about any future change

The central bank set out the process it would follow if a denomination were ever discontinued:

• It would be announced through an official SBP notification.
• The public would be given adequate time to exchange the discontinued notes.

In other words, no one would learn about it from a forwarded graphic with a countdown.

Your Rs 10 notes are fine

Keep spending them. They remain legal tender. Shopkeepers, conductors, petrol pumps and banks are obliged to accept them, and there is no exchange deadline to meet.

If a shop refuses a valid note, that is the shop's problem, not the note's. SBP's Banking Conduct and Consumer Protection Department takes complaints of this kind.

How to check a currency claim in thirty seconds

This one followed the standard pattern of a fabricated graphic: a real logo, an official-looking layout, an urgent deadline and no link to a source.

1. Go to sbp.org.pk and look under Press Releases. Every genuine currency decision is published there.
2. Check SBP's verified accounts, not a page with a similar name.
3. Treat any deadline as a red flag. Urgency is the whole point of these forwards.
4. Do not forward it while you check. Under PECA's Section 26-A, spreading false information can carry up to three years and a fine of up to Rs 2 million.

We applied the same checks to two viral Makkah videos and to a fake three-weekly-holidays notification this week.

SBP separately warned customers this week to stay alert to online and e-banking fraud, which tends to rise alongside currency rumours because the two share an audience.