U.S. dollars BII style<\/p>\n
In 1997, the rupiah exchange rate was fluctuating against the
\nU.S. dollar and many banks put their own regulations into effect
\nto anticipate their customers saving or depositing U.S. dollars.
\nAt that time, BII promised its customers that the bank was the
\nsafest place to deposit U.S. dollars and that it did not collect
\nmiscellaneous fees for dollar accounts, a promise that lured many
\npeople, including myself. The condition has now changed as rupiah
\nhas become stable against the dollar.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 6, when I wanted to deposit my dollars at BII's Plaza
\nSenayan branch, I was surprised by the fact that the bank will
\nonly accept U.S. dollar notes based on the checking standards
\nmade by the bank itself. It is reasonable if the bank checks
\nwhether dollar notes are real money or not. The bank, however,
\ndoes not accept dollar notes which are, among a host of criteria,
\nfolded, stamped, faded or crumpled.<\/p>\n
The bank, finally, could accept only about 40 percent of the
\nU.S. dollar banknotes I wanted to deposit. I even begged the bank
\nto accept the remaining banknotes at a deduction, but to no
\navail. Fortunately, it was only a small amount of money that I
\nwanted to deposit that day. Any customer wanting to deposit a
\nlarge amount of money in U.S. dollars would end up dismayed and
\ndisappointed and would have to take home with him\/her an equally
\nlarge sum of U.S. dollar banknotes that failed to meet the
\ncriteria set by BII. One of the BII staffers sympathized with me
\nand said that many customers had complained about this. I wonder
\nwhether BII treats a U.S. dollar banknote as if it were a
\nhistorical painting or an antique crystal so that it should not
\nbe touched to prevent it from being spoiled or one only for
\ndisplay.<\/p>\n
The money is legal tender and as such its form will be
\naffected when it changes hands or goes into and out of wallets or
\npurses. Even in its country of origin, the United States, it is
\nrelatively difficult to find U.S. dollar banknotes in good
\ncondition. If a teller receives U.S. dollar banknotes, he\/she
\nwill check whether they are genuine or not and when they are,
\nhe\/she will scratch them with a brown marking pen to indicate
\nthat they are genuine. U.S. dollar banknotes entering or leaving
\ncountries like Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, etc. will also
\nbe stamped as a sign of control over them.<\/p>\n
This means that it will be increasingly more difficult for
\npeople in Indonesia, especially BII customers, to get U.S. dollar
\nbanknotes that meet BII-set criteria. It would be wise,
\ntherefore, for BII customers or prospective customers to consider
\ncarefully whether they have chosen BII as the right place for
\ntheir U.S. dollar deposits.<\/p>\n
MITA NURANI<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-dollars-bii-style-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }