South African Reserve Bank
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) has issued a warning to citizens to not use dye-stained cash notes from ATM's.
This, after SABRIC, noticed a large number of dye-stained notes circulating in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, following the destruction of multiple ATMs due to ongoing looting and unrest this week.
SABRIC CEO, Nischal Mewalall said hundreds of ATM's were destroyed, hampering the ability of bank customers to access cash and other financial services.
He said ATM's hold money in special containers that protect cash with dye-stain technology that is activated when someone tries to break it open.
Once activated, the cash is stained with a green dye, thus defacing the notes, rendering them unusable as currency.
Mewalall said those notes have no monetary value and people who try to use them make themselves suspects of a criminal investigation.
He also cautioned people against accepting these notes as payment as they may find themselves out of pocket after releasing goods or performing services because the money is worthless.
SABRIC encouraged the public to report any person in possession of such notes to the South African Police.
