Cape Coast, Jan.2, GNA-The rush by the public to have their old currencies changed for the new, has gradually died down in banks in the Cape Coast municipality.

There were no queues at most banks the GNA visited on Wednesday, with pockets of people, particularly children trickling in to have their money changed.

At the Cape Coast Main branch of the Ghana Commercial Bank, the Manager, Mr Eric Amar, said from December 24th to 31st the bank had changed a total amount of GH=A2103,062,770.00 and was hopeful that many more people would turn up.

He said the bank did not restrict the changing of the money to only its customers but served everyone who walked into the bank to have his or her money changed, adding that that people were changing more coins than the notes.

Mr Amar said the bank was not also forcing people to open accounts with it before their monies were changed but he however, encouraged people to develop the habit of saving their money with banks. Touching on the lack of new pesewa coins in the system, he said, he had directed his staff to pay people with more coins and advised the public to accept them, stressing that, that was the only way the coins could move into the system and advised the public to handle the new notes with care to enable them to last long.

At the Agricultural Development Bank, Mr. Mac Patrick Agbecornu, the Manager said the bank has so far changed a total amount of GH=A213,510, and reminded the public that the old currency was no longer legal tender and that those who were still keeping them should endeavour to have them changed.

He said there was no need for them to rush to have their money changed, since there was no deadline for that, and also advised the public to handle the new notes with care by using purses instead of squeezing them into their clothes, since they were very expensive to print.

At the SG.SSB, the Manager, Mr Ransford Darfour, could not readily give the amount changed so far, but said the bank had changed a lot of the old currency, particularly on December 31, and had even designated a teller to solely take care of the changing of the old currency. He expressed concern about the fact that people kept their monies until the last minute and encouraged everyone to have their old currencies changed, since they would not be charged any fee for the exercise.

Mrs Marian Amandoh, Barclays bank manager could not also give the total amount changed so far but said everything was moving on smoothly and advised those who were still having the old currency in their possession to have them changed at the bank.