The Hindu Business Line : You can bank longer!

"We had to visit our branch at 7.30 p.m to draw some bulk cash - for making some payments in a land deal the next day (more than what was permitted by the ATM). Thankfully, banks are open longer now and we didn't face a problem," says Sarathy, a new private bank customer.

Banking is getting more convenient. You don't always have to jostle with the crowds at the counter during the peak hour. Now you can walk into some bank branches at a late evening hour or even on a Sunday.

A number of banks have extended their working hours in select branches. A decade ago, banks were open for public transactions for any four hours between 8.30 a.m and 2.30 p.m, depending on local convenience. This was extended by about two hours a few years ago. Now, bank branches being open for 12 hours and more are getting common.

A branch of YES Bank in Andheri, Mumbai, works from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. A Union Bank of India branch, on Chamiers Road, Chennai, works from 8.a.m to 8 p.m.

A couple of branches of IndusInd Bank have started banking on Sundays. ICICI Bank offers 8 a.m to 8 p.m banking at many of its branches.

Subtle symbolism

Not always have these extended hours been introduced by banks to cater to increased traffic. Sometimes the bank is trying to convey a subtle message with the symbolism of extended hours - that it cares for its customers.

Sometimes that can reach extreme lengths. Bank of Baroda has a few branches that are open all 24 hours! Who would want to use banks at those hours?

When we asked Dr. Anil Khandelwal, Chairman and Managing Director, Bank of Baroda, about this a few months ago, this is what he had to say:

"Who comes to the pharmacy in the night? A desperate person comes in an emergency. Who comes in the night, when the London metro is running? Keeping your shop open or running a late hour train shows customer care - that you care for that one person who may need the service at that hour.

Let me tell you, we have had instances, where someone has to apply for a tender in Delhi and they need a draft urgently in the night. Somebody has died in the family, so they want some cash. We have a number of such examples."

Marketing tool

For many banks the extended hours are really a marketing tool to get new customers. Few existing customers actually seem to drop in during the "extended hours". "Apart from a few customers visiting the bank during the extended hours, there are a lot of prospective customers who visit the branch," said Mr Suhail Kazmi, President- Retail Banking, Yes Bank.

According to Mr Varghese Thambi, Senior Vice-president and Head- Retail Banking, IndusInd Bank, "It is an effective customer acquisition strategy. Most of our customers prefer coming to the branch but cannot make it during normal business hours. "In the initial phase, around 20-25 per cent of our customers, have visited our branches during Sunday," said Mr Thambi. "The traffic of the customers is very high during the evening hours," he added.

Traffic varies with clientele

However, extended banking hours does not work at every place. The profile of the clientele in an area is the key factor. "For instance, our Andheri branch services a lot of customers who are involved in trade and service. It is a residential and commercial area, where customers prefer early start and late closure of banks," said Mr Kazmi. "Late evenings have significant amount of customer traffic," he added. The bank plans to have at least 20-25 per cent of its branches with 7-11 banking.

What about the logistics for the banks in terms of getting enough people to man the counters? Do they have to maintain two sets of people? Or overwork the existing staff? Not a problem, some say - although the staff across all banks do not necessarily agree with that. But officers say the exercise does not really add much to existing costs.

"With advanced technology, banking transactions can take place very easily and hardly adds up to the cost. Therefore, on Sunday, our branch will have only few staff members and 8-8 banking will have staff members on a rotational basis," said Mr Thambi.

Some public sector banks too had started 8-8 banking a few years ago. The largest bank, State Bank of India, started extended banking hours at some metro branches seven years ago. . "However, with the increasing number of ATMs, a customer's dependence on a bank's branch has reduced considerably. There are only a few customers who visit the branch for enquiries and cheque collections during the extended hours in certain branches," said Mr Sangeet Shukla, CGM-Personal Banking, SBI

," said Mr Sangeet Shukla, CGM-Personal Banking, SBI. "Of late, some branch managers have said that there are fewer footfalls at bank's branches during the extended hours," he said.

"For emergency services like cheque collection, I think it is a good proposition to keep the bank's branch open till late evening. But with the 24-hour ATMs and also Internet banking, I don't feel the need for extended hours of banking at every branch. Certain branches at key commercial areas will be very helpful," said a private bank customer.

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