Millions spend hours outside banks for new currency
After being cashless for over 24 hours, millions of people stood in queues outside banks on Thursday to exchange their now-defunct ~500 and ~1,000 notes with new ~2,000 notes, or simply withdraw some money. According to sources, banks still haven’t got the new set of ~500 notes as customers were given a mix of ~2,000 and ~100 notes.
Nirmal Waghule, a 72-year-old retired engineer, who had come to exchange cash at an ICICI Bank branch in Mumbai, stood in the queue as soon as the branch opened. He got the mandated ~4,000 in a combination of ~100 and ~2,000 notes. Luckily, the service was quick and bank staff was patient, but this senior citizen was wondering how to get the ~2,000 note exchanged.
However, not everyone was so lucky. Bansiram Kamble, a contract worker, could not deposit his money because he did not have adequate know-your-customer (KYC) documents. “This is the only cash I have and all of it is in ~500 notes. I do not know what to do,” he was seen pleading with bank officials. Meanwhile, the finance ministry said in a statement that existing ~500 & ~1,000 notes will be accepted for making payments towards fees, taxes and penalties payable to the central and state governments, including municipal and local bodies. They will also be accepted for making payments for water and electricity bills. However, these facilities will be available only till midnight of Friday, the statement said.