With chaos and confusion likely, banks in Ernakulam will open as usual on Thursday morning to meet customer rush following the Centre’s decision to scrap currency notes of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 denominations.
“Banks are prepared, but we know people will be turning up in good numbers,” said a senior official with the State Bank of India, Ernakulam. “A major point that customers should note before walking into banks is that the cap on exchanging notes is Rs.4,000. It will continue till we get a fresh directive from the government,” he added.
Shortage of Rs. 100 notes
Acknowledging that there was shortage of currency notes of Rs.100 denomination, the official pointed out that efforts would be made to replenish ATMs with notes of Rs.100 and Rs.50 by Friday morning.
He said SBI had 110 ATMs under the town section, while the total number of booths in Ernakulam will be more than 500.
“An estimate of the daily demand for currency in the district can be made only after assessing records,” he said.
Asked whether the new series of Rs.500 and Rs.2,000 notes would be available at SBI branches here from Friday, the official said the bank was making efforts to start distributing the notes to customers when it would be launched across the nation.
Meanwhile, those associated with State Level Bankers’ Committee, Kerala, said banks had stocked adequate cash to meet the demand for currency of Rs.100 in ATMs across the district.
