They're harder to count, say money changers

Although the Monetary Authority says polymer notes will be cleaner and more durable, some money changers said yesterday they prefer paper notes.

An employee at the China and Hong Kong Renminbi Exchange in Mong Kok said paper money in a large wad was convenient for hand-counting.

'People like folding money. But a characteristic of polymer money is that it is more difficult to flatten again after it is folded, which makes counting by hand less convenient.

'I don't think there is a problem with cleanliness or durability of the current 10-dollar notes. The security features are very good too. I don't see the need to use polymer notes,' she said. Her employer would have to buy a new bill counter, costing more than HK$7,000, when the new notes were issued.

James Wong, who works for Tony Foreign Exchange Company in Central, is not happy about polymer notes. He also said counting them by hand was a problem.

'It's a fact that the previous green 10-dollar notes were not very durable, but the current violet notes have improved very much and are quite durable enough,' he said.

'If I could choose, I would prefer paper notes to polymer notes. But anyway, we seldom need to count 10-dollar notes in bulk, so I think it won't affect us much.'