Bank staff troop in to work on a 'non-business working day'

Bank staff across the country have trooped into their respective branches on a 'non-business working day,' the morning after the withdrawal of the legal tender status of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes.

They did not have an option since this was not backed up by invocation of the Negotiable Instruments Act, a bank official said.

And now they are worried that they would need to work into a long week-end -- in fact, say some, there is talk that they might be asked to work on Saturday and Sunday as well.

There might not be even an end to the week, so to speak. The coming Saturday is the second of the month, normally a closed banking holiday.

The banks staff have variously been told to await 'further instructions' during the course of today on what they are supposed to do on this non-transaction day.

Some banks have called circle/ regional-level meetings of top officials to decide the priorities ahead of what they see as a 'panicky and chaotic' day tomorrow, when they reopen for business.

Another top bank official that BusinessLine spoke with said re-calibrating ATMs to accommodate the new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes could be top of the agenda.

A leading private sector bank said in a circular that all branches need to “carry out preparations for implementing the changes” consequent to the introduction of the new notes.

The RTGS/NEFT channels will be open and CTS (cheque truncation scheme) inward clearing instruments will be processed as usual.

The staff have been asked to standby for further instructions on currency/ cash management at branches and ATMs, as well as on information/ material for educating the public.

COMMENT NOW