CONFIDENTIAL #
3
機密
Hang Seng Bank: Could only provide exchange
service to customers on a first-come-first-
served basis due to limited supply.
Kwong On Bank, Causeway Bay Received very
irregular supply of small coins from the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, which could be once a week or once a month. Regular patrons would be offered exchanges of up to $50 while other customers could only get exchanges of up to $201
Nanyang Commercial Bank: Offered exchanges only
at certain hours of the day.
Reasons for the Shortage
4..
The demand for small coins for public transport purposes was considered a major factor. Since public transport companies had adopted the "mechanised no-change" system which required the commuters to tender exact fares, the public, very naturally and inevitably, had taken to the hoarding or saving of as many one-cent coins as possible. The lack of exchange service at the major bus/tram stops only rendered it all the more necessary for people to retain small coins.
5.
Tagged on to the above point was the problem of
re-circulation. Some respondents believed that considerable delay was caused because re-circulation had to go through the banks first. It was reported that while KMB generally delivered their coins to the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, CMB deposited their coins only in banks owned by the Chiu Chow clan e.g. The Liu Chong Hing Bank, hence holding up the prompt re-circulation of a larger amount of coins. Quite a number of
respondents thought that the so-called problem or difficulty of re-circulation was not a natural phenomenon, that the public transport companies were deliberately slowing down the re-
circulation rate to aggravate the shortage situation thereby
forcing the common commuters to pay more fares and the banks to pay additional surcharges for the supply of coins.
Some
CONFIDENTIAL
/respondents
機密