"Stop the Spread of COVID-19"... China Quarantines and Culls Even 'Banknotes'

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The People's Bank of China, the central bank of China, has decided to quarantine even the cash circulating in the market to prevent additional transmission of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). In particular, cash received from places with a high risk of COVID-19 exposure, such as hospitals, buses, and markets, will be discarded regardless of the condition of the banknotes.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong on the 17th, the Guangzhou branch of the People's Bank of China has decided to destroy all banknotes received from hospitals, markets, and buses. This is a measure to prevent COVID-19 infection through banknotes.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Accordingly, general banks must separately store money transacted in hospitals, buses, markets, etc., disinfect it, and then hand it over to the People's Bank of China.

Among the basic tasks of the central bank is the exchange of worn-out banknotes that can no longer be used for new ones. However, it is unusual for banknotes to be discarded regardless of their condition simply because they were transacted in hospitals or markets.

The People's Bank of China will also implement quarantine measures on money circulating in the market depending on the extent of COVID-19 spread. In areas with many COVID-19 infections, money circulating in the market that comes to banks will be disinfected by high temperature or ultraviolet light and then circulated in the market after a 14-day quarantine period.

The People's Bank of China also proposed measures to maintain the circulation volume of currency in the market due to disposal and storage. Pan Yifei, Vice Governor of the People's Bank of China, stated on the 15th, "We will encourage banks to supply new banknotes as much as possible." Vice Governor Pan added that 4 billion yuan (676.7 billion KRW) was urgently supplied to Hubei Province, where COVID-19 broke out.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Although the People's Bank of China introduced these measures considering hygiene, some believe these measures will not be very effective. This is because the proportion of cash usage in daily transactions among Chinese people has decreased. Mobile payments such as Alipay and WeChat Pay have become active, resulting in a low proportion of cash usage. According to one survey, ordinary Chinese people use mobile payments and spend less than 100 yuan in cash per month.

There are also skeptical views regarding the disposal policy. An anonymous official from the People's Bank of China said, "Banks have to go through the process of checking with customers where this money was used," adding, "It is difficult to expect perfect effectiveness from this measure."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.