Here's why Rs 200 notes will not be available in ATMs till December

Mumbai: Although the newly-rolled out Rs 200 notes are available at select bank branches, it might take as long as December to get these in ATMs, state media reports.

The Reserve Bank of India in August issued Rs 200 notes in a bid to address the low-denomination crunch in the system. The notes have been available at certain bank branches so far.

According to media reports, ATM makers say they have not yet received instructions from banks to recalibrate the cassettes to fit in the new Rs 200 notes.

Banks seem to believe that with the effects of note ban dwindling away, there is no “sense of urgency” currently. Canara Bank chairman Rakesh Sharma said that although recalibration is seen as an easy exercise in public imagination, it is not.

ATM operators have blamed banks for their lack of interest getting the machines updated.

To dispense the Rs 200 notes, the ATM machines require recalibration them, which entails re-configuring the cassette.

The RBI had however said that more Rs 200 notes will be available in the system shortly. "The production of these (Rs 200) notes is being ramped up by the currency printing presses and over time, as more notes are printed, it will be distributed across the country through the banking channels and will be available for public in adequate quantity," the central bank had said in a statement.