Mounds of Change

2007-03-14 17:16:03 CRIENGLISH.com



A resident in Zhengzhou city, Henan Province deposited money worth 20 thousand yuan at a branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Zhengzhou on Tuesday, March 13, 2007. In the background, bank clerks set about counting the change. [Photo: photo.eastday.com]

A money depositor has scared away the staff of several banks by bringing them vast quantities of pennies.

The condiments businessman, surnamed Xu, is a resident in Zhengzhou city, central China's Henan Province. He says the money is worth more than 20 thousand yuan and that he has collected it from his clients.

But the money has brought him big trouble, reports a Shanghai-based newspaper, since it is composed of small notes and coins with a highest value of one yuan and a lowest of one jiao, a little more than one US cent.

The businessman said he has to use seven bags to hold all the money. But not only does it take up a lot of space. The real trouble is that no banks wanted to accept the money, arguing that it takes too much time and labor to count such quantities of change. Mr. Xu said he ran across the whole city trying various banks before finding a branch that would take it. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China agreed to accept the deposit.

The clerks in the bank explained that no rules allow them to refuse such a deposit. It will, however, take three people three or four days to count the money.