Banks extend work timings by two hours on Nov 10-11, to be open this weekend too

Banks will work an extra two hours on November 10 and 11 and will also remain open over the weekend to help customers queuing up to deposit their 500 and 1000 rupee notes.

Banks will work an extra two hours on November 10 and 11 and will also remain open over the weekend to help customers queuing up to deposit their 500 and 1000 rupee notes.

A railways staff counts currency notes of Rs 500 at a ticket counter, one of the few places still accepting the scrapped higher denomination notes, in Allahabad on November 9, 2016.(AP)

The rush to the banks follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise announcement on Tuesday night that the two denominations were being made illegal from midnight as a measure against black money.

“In order to meet the anticipated heavy demand from members of public to conduct their banking transactions, it has been decided that banks shall remain open for public transactions on Saturday, November 12, and Sunday, November 13, 2016. Banks are advised to keep all their branches open on November 12 and 13, 2016 as regular working days for transacting all business. Banks may give due publicity about availability of banking services on these days,” the Reserve Bank of India said.

The RBI also announced that the new notes of 2000 and 500 rupees would be available from this Friday, i.e., November 11.

Read | Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes scrapped: 25 things RBI wants you to know

Rakeh Sharma, CEO and MD of Canara Bank said, “Our banks will work extra two hours to facilitate customer convenience and will also work on Saturday if required. We have deputed additional staff including those from the administration and retired employees to help in the operational management.”

ICICI Bank also announced the extension of its branch timings by two hours on November 10 and 11, 2016.

“Branches in prominent locations shall be open from 8 am to 8 pm on November 10 and 11, 2016. All our branches will be open on Saturday, November 12, 2016. If required, we will also keep our branches open on the forthcoming Saturday, November 19, 2016,” a company statement said.

The bank also said branches would be providing the new notes of Rs 2,000. “These will be available at our main branches from November 10, 2016.”

In other measures, the bank has also waived off all charges pertaining to cash deposits in its savings accounts from November 10 to 30, and free ATM transactions till December 31.

Select customers may also get an additional credit limit of 20% on credit cards and the daily usage limit of debit cards for use at point-of-sale (POS) as well as online transactions has been doubled.