Bank of Russia holds Open Day and presents new banknotes, cash-in-transit vehicles among innovations
The Bank of Russia opened its doors to the public on 14 October 2017, holding an open day across all its regional divisions from Kaliningrad to the Far East. The Bank of Russia's Open Day was launched last year as an annual nationwide event. It has proved of much interest to the public, with this year's visitors totalling some 45 thousand people.
The agenda included a presentation of new 200 and 2,000 ruble banknotes, set to enter circulation this December. Visitors to all 85 regional divisions were shown the samples of the new banknotes and found out more about their design and security features, while Open Day visitors to the Crimea, Vladivostok and Moscow branches were able to see the original banknotes.
In Moscow, the event took place concurrently at the Bank of Russia premises in Neglinnaya Street and at Branch Establishment One of the BoR Main Branch for the Central Federal District. The unit is the largest cash handling facility in Europe. Never before had visitors been able to enter this huge cash centre, which spans an area equalling two football fields and handles 75% of all cash in Moscow. From this point money is bound for banks across the Russian capital. Based on the feedback, a counting-and-sorting machine was a hit with visitors. With a counting speed of 33 banknotes a minute, the machine is able to destroy worn currency on the fly.
Visitors to the BoR premises in Neglinnaya Street were offered excursions to the historic area of the architectural ensemble. They also entered the unique museum housed in the building. On display in the yard were cash-in-transit vehicles and cars used in the banking business.
Among the visitors to the BoR Open Day in the Republic of Komi, there were three newly-wed couples. They were given the Family's Financial Plan brochures. Among visitors to the Open Day in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk were kids from a rehabilitation centre for disabled minors. They too had the chance to check banknote authenticity, take part in intellectual games, solve financial puzzles and have their photos taken against a backdrop of a huge five thousand note.
In the Anadyr branch, young visitors were able to watch nothing less than a real puppet play. It was a story of money — what it is, why we need it and the best options for keeping it. In Saratov, visitors to Bank of Russia branch offices enjoyed a show of minting in progress, where a blacksmith used a special press machine to mint a token coin. There was a specialty on the buffet menu for those visiting the Republic of Mari El branch. They were treated to waffles and cakes in the form of 1,000 и 5,000 ruble banknotes. The hosts explained how much these banknotes weighed in troy ounce; some visitors were given play certificates to attest their gold-based conversion into some global currencies.
The young people who came to the Vladimir branch staged a flashmob on the square at the bank’s historic building, forming a human chain in the shape of the numbers 200 and 2,000. A similar flashmob featured on the Open Day programme at the BoR branch in Orenburg where its female staff put on the legendary Orenburg shawls and formed a human chain of the ruble sign.
