Venezuelan Central Bank president Nelson Merentes has announced that the deadline for turning in all 100-bolivar bills will be extended by "approximately" 10 days after the 72-hour period originally proclaimed for withdrawing those bills from circulation.
Merentes held a press conference at which he said that the process will be undertaken with the participation of public and private banks, along with the central bank.
"We're ... going to provide information to the entire Venezuelan population of this exchange process that will come after the deposit process ends," he said.
Meanwhile, thousands of Venezuelans rushed on Tuesday to public and private banks around the country to turn in their 100-bolivar bills, the highest denomination in the local currency.
The bills were originally slated to lose their value and be removed from circulation on Thursday by order of President Nicolas Maduro.
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According to the EFE, lines of up to 150 people were forming at banks located in the eastern part of the Venezuelan capital and most of those citizens were elderly and waiting their turn to turn in their currency.
Just one private financial institution among those checked by EFE said that it was exchanging cash, that is to say, accepting up to 50,000 bolivares (about $A100) in 100-bolivar bills and returning the same sum to customers in two, five and 10-bolivar bills.
The rest of the banks were accepting the bills as deposits to people's accounts.
About a dozen customers told EFE that they had decided to make a trip to their banks exclusively to deposit those bills during the first of the three days the government has designated for Venezuelans to get rid of them.
