4-day bank strike may leave residents cash-strapped

COIMBATORE: With the All India Bank Employees’ Association to go on strike between January 21 and 24 demanding higher wages, it is likely that account holders of nationalized banks would have to drive to ATMs in the suburbs to withdraw cash. Further, January 25 is a Sunday that is followed by Republic Day. So, ATMs would not be filled for six days. This would be a hassle for many, as people may have to drive much further to ATMs in remote areas to withdraw cash as ATM usage in those areas would be lower.
Public sector banks are planning to fill their ATMs to the brim on Tuesday night, to minimize inconvenience. “They should hold out for anywhere between two to three days depending on the machine’s programming and location. Since it is nearing the end of the month, usage would generally drop, so cash would hold out longer,” said A Sridhar, manager of a nationalized bank in the city. “However, if ATMs in the heart of the city like Avinashi Road, R S Puram, Gandhipuram, Town Hall and Sukrawarpet dry up, they should try banks in residential areas like Peelamedu, Avarampalayam and Sai Baba Colony,” he said. “If those also get emptied, they should go further out to Kuniamuthur, SITRA, Thadagam Road, Mettupalayam Road, Vadavalli and Saravanampatti,” he advised.
The life of the cash in an ATM depends on its capacity, programming and patronage, according to experts. “ATMs usually have two or four bins depending on their size and each can accommodate 2,500 notes. If the machine is programmed to disburse Rs1,000 notes, which 50% of the ATMs in the city are equipped to do, they can store more money,” said Sridhar. “A high patronage ATM will see around 500 withdrawals a day in the first half of the month, and will double during the weekends. It slowly starts dwindling towards the month-end,” he said. “ATMs in the suburbs may not even touch 100 in a day,” he added. After news of the long bank leave was announced, large queues at withdrawal counters in banks were seen forming on Monday morning. At the State Bank of India on D B Road, in R S Puram, queues were noticed from 9am onwards, said a senior manager of the bank. “It was not unmanageable though,” she said.
Small and large businesses who expected to be performing cash transactions over the next few days were seen sending their cashiers and accountants to the bank. Many youngsters and some businessmen remained calm, drawing only the minimum amount of cash required. “There is always net banking to make and receive bigger payments for our services. We do not have too many cash transactions from the company” said Mathu Yeshwanth, who runs a social media marketing company.