Chennai: Bankers queue up for Rs 100 notes, brace for salary day rush

Chennai: Three weeks after demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, the cash crunch continues in Chennai as 50 per cent of ATMs in the city are yet to be calibrated to dispense new Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes.

According to a report, Rs 100 notes are in severe short supply in the city as well as in other parts of Tamil Nadu, with working ATMs dispensing Rs 2000 and new Rs 500 notes. So much so, that bankers themselves are queuing up before the currency chest for the Rs 100 currency. Most of it has been hoarded by people who exchanged Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes at banks.

RBI has been disbursing cash only in the mornings from currency chests to most bank branches. As a result people are forced to wait for hours to withdraw cash, said the report.

“Our first cash transaction occurred only at noon. We have been given Rs 18 lakh while our branch requires almost Rs 100 lakh. They gave us Rs 2,000 notes worth Rs 12 lakh, Rs 50 rupee notes worth one lakh rupees and the rest in denominations of Rs 10 and Rs 20 notes. They did not give us any Rs 100 notes,” a banker was quoted as saying.

The crisis is set to intensify as banks focus on meeting month-end demand of lakhs of salaried employees and pensioners.

To beat the imminent cash crunch, banks throughout the country are setting internal daily cash withdrawal limits per account, while the government has asked private companies to make payments to employees digitally.

However, bank officials said they have yet to get any communication from RBI on how to handle the situation of lack of Rs 100 notes.

“With a Rs 2,500 withdrawal cap from ATMs, people will be queuing up at banks where withdrawal limit is Rs 24,000 per week. This could result in large mobs demanding cash,” a public sector bank official from Chennai was quoted as saying.

A senior official in the Tamil Nadu government said salary of employees would be credited in the bank accounts as usual and there was no move to disburse salary in cash. The Central government for its part is encouraging private companies to credit salaries to employees’ accounts digitally.