False posts about Pakistan banknote redesign surface online

Published on July 17, 2025 at 11:51
2 min read
By Rimal FARRUKH, AFP Pakistan

Pakistan's central bank, which has sole authority to print currency in the country, has dismissed baseless claims about a new 1,000-rupee note. The circulating visuals do not match existing legal tender and previously appeared in a post about a money design competition.

"New currency note 1000-state Bank of Pakistan," reads the English-language caption to a TikTok video shared June 23, 2025.

The clip -- viewed more than two million times -- appears to show a stack of 1,000 Pakistani rupee (3.5 US dollar) notes.

Screenshot of the false post taken on July 16, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

Similar visuals also surfaced elsewhere on TikTok and appeared to have misled users of the platform.

"Design is clean and amazing, but it's white and may get dirty," one wrote.

Another said, "The previous note design was better."

But the claim about a new banknote "appears to be misinformation", Noor Ahmed, spokesperson for the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country's central bank, told AFP on July 10.

"For accurate information, please refer to official website and social media channels for fact-checks and updates," Ahmed added

A search on the SBP's official website and social media pages found it has not announced a new design for the 1,000 bill as of July 17, 2025 (archived here and here).

Moreover, the notes in the false posts do not have security features seen on genuine 1,000-rupee bills, such as the signature of former SBP governor Yaseen Anwar, Braille marks, a seven-digit serial number, and the year of production (archived here and here).

Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) and a poster from the State Bank of Pakistan showing genuine currency

A keyword search found an Instagram user shared a video on June 24, 2025 that featured corresponding visuals (archived link)

Its caption says they were made as part of a submission to the SBP's currency note design competition in 2024 and that they are not real money (archived link).

Pakistani media reported the winning mockups were then given to designers to serve as inspiration for the final layout (archived link).

The design of the current 1,000-rupee note was launched on February 24, 2007 and remains in circulation (archived link).

Pakistani media organisation Geo Fact Check has also debunked the claim (archived link).

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