New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS): Complaints have come in against banks of their branches of refusing to accept coins for transactions, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla, however, also told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that these complaints were of a general nature and that no specific complaints had been received against any particular bank.

"The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informed that it has been receiving general complaints from the public against banks for non-accepting coins," he said, adding that the RBI had advised commercial banks to accept coins for transactions and exchange at all their branches.

Besides, the RBI's regional offices (ROs) have also been instructed to advise controllers of banks in their jurisdiction to accept coins at all the branches, Shukla said.

The RBI's ROs have also been advised to open counters to accept coins from the public, he added.