Sri Lanka offers bonus for kids to return coins in their piggy banks

March 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka would offer an immediate 20 percent bonus in stationary for kids who break their piggy banks and deposit the coins in the banking system, officials said. "If children break their piggy banks and bring the coins back to circulation we will give exercise books, pens and rulers to 20 percent of their value," Deputy Finance Minister Ranjith Siymbalapitiya told journalists.

The kids will also get currency notes to the value of the coins.

Sri Lanka's central bank says hundreds millions of rupees worth of coins are stuck in piggy banks and collection boxes in religious establishments, and replacing them with additional new coins is expensive.

Of the estimated three percent or 5.3 billion rupees in coins, around four percent or around 220 million rupees worth of coins are stored away in homes or children’s’ piggy banks Central Bank Assistant Governor W B Weerasekera said.

The Central Bank and the finance ministry is starting campaign in the provincial town of Kurunegala in April to get the money from the kids.

"Instead of keeping coins at home, if you put it in the bank you will also get interest," Weerasekera said.

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