Banks across the country are taking several measures to ensure that customers are least inconvenienced by the Centre’s decision to cancel the legal tender character of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes. From keeping branches open over the coming Saturday and Sunday to extended working hours to opening more counters, bankers are pulling no stops.
The RBI has asked banks to keep all their branches open on November 12 (Saturday) and 13 (Sunday) as regular working days for transacting business.
Further, some banks such as State Bank of India and ICICI Bank have decided to have extended working hours and open more counters on Thursday to clear the rush of public wanting to exchange these notes.
Bank branches across the country remained closed on Wednesday to enable them to prepare for exchanging ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes for notes of valid denominations or depositing the old notes into their accounts.
ATMs, cash deposit machines and cash recyclers too are shuttered for two days (November 9 and 10) to enable them to be re-configured in order to disburse bank notes of ₹100 and ₹50 denominations prior to reactivation of the machines on November 11.
SBI said all of its branches will remain open on Thursday with extended business hours up to 6 pm.
India’s largest bank said from November 10, exchange counters will be set up at branches where specified bank notes of ₹1,000 and ₹500 denominations can be exchanged for up to a maximum of ₹4,000. For this, identity document and an exchange slip duly filled in will be required.
No ceilingThere is no ceiling on deposit of the specified bank notes of ₹1,000 and ₹500 in the customer’s account with the bank.
SBI said: “All ATMs across the country will become operational from November 11…. As of now, the bank has sufficient notes of ₹100 denomination to be dispensed through ATMs and branches.
“There is no need for panic as specified bank notes can be deposited in the account, without ceiling, up to December 30, 2016, with the bank.”
ICICI Bank said its branch timings will be extended by two hours on November 10 and 11. Further, branches in prominent locations shall remain open from 8 am to 8 pm on these two days.
“The bank will equip its branches with additional cash counters to manage heightened footfall of customers….All charges pertaining to cash deposit in our savings accounts across all branches will be waived off, with effect from November 10 till November 30,” said Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank.
The bank, in a statement, said charges related to transactions at its ATMs by its customers will be waived off till December 31.
Further, ICICI Bank said it has doubled the daily usage limit of debit cards for use at point-of-sale (POS) as well as for online transactions. It has also offered its credit-worthy customers an additional credit limit of 20 per cent on credit cards.
A senior Central Bank of India official said officials from administrative offices will be posted at branches to man additional counters that will be opened for customer convenience.