
But what causes the unavailability of coins and sustainability of this chocolate business in shops? While talking to some owners and managers of shops I asked them why chocolates in lieu of coins are given to the customers. The reply I got from them was that they did not get coins from the banks. I conducted a study to check to what extent their claim was valid. We paid visits to a number of banks to get coins in exchange for notes but not a single bank provided us with the coins we requested for. At the same time, coins were found available to the brokers selling coins beside the banks and in some other busy areas. Thus, I was quite convinced of the claim that coins are not readily available in some bank branches for the common people.
I also tried to find out if there were any other causes of keeping chocolates as substitutes for coins. And I discovered that such chocolate containers are also a source of income for some business owners, since many people are reluctant to take chocolates and they leave the shop without taking it. The shopkeepers also earn by offering the shoppers the chocolates of less value than the actual value of coins or notes that should be given to them. Once I saw a young lady submitted two hundred taka along with five chocolates to the cash counter of a shop to pay the bill of a cosmetic item of taka 210. The manager of the shop, being flabbergasted, said to the lady, "Thank you so much for the gifts." The lady replied hastily, "These are the chocolates I received from this shop as substitutes for coins and I have just returned those chocolates instead of coins here." Their conversation led to an altercation and I left the shop sensing its outcome.
If we think of the consequences of this chocolate business, we would easily realize that shoppers are deceived by not taking back the change from the shopkeepers. Our economy will also be affected badly if this huge amount of coins issued by Bangladesh Bank and our government is not properly circulated and utilized.

Finally, stringent regulations should be implemented and all common people should also be made cognizant of this chocolate business.
Pulok Debnath has done his MBA from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Dhaka University.
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