The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed banks to limit cash exchange for banned notes to Rs.4,000 from Wednesday until November 24, and told lenders to remain open on Saturday and Sunday.
The cash exchange limit will be increased after November 24, according to the central bank.
While banks will open Thursday, automated teller machines (ATM) will start functioning from Friday.
According to bankers, RBI has already sent all the banks Rs. 2,000 denomination currency notes in large boxes on Wednesday and asked lenders to ration its distribution.
The Rs.2000 currency notes will not be available in the automated teller machines (ATM) immediately as the machines need to be recalibrated, a move which may take at least two weeks, bankers said.
As of now, only 100 and 50 denomination notes will be available.
“RBI has instructed us to ensure everything goes smoothly so that the customer do not panic,” said the chief executive of a public sector bank. “They have asked us to open all the branches on Thursday.”
While there will be limit on how much a customer can exchange, but there will no limit for depositing money in bank accounts. Any deposit of more than Rs.50,000 requires a PAN card.
The RBI has also asked banks to remain open on Saturday (November 12) – which is a second Saturday of the month and Sunday (November 13). Bank branches remain closed on second and fourth Saturdays and all Sundays. Banks, on their part, have extended banking hours to facilitate the transactions.
