Just 40% ATMs are functioning

There’s no change in the cash crisis in the city after six months of the demonetisation announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Banks are still facing a cash crunch due to lesser supply of cash from the RBI.

An RBI source said there were two likely reasons for the present cash crisis.

“A major cause could be the public is not circulating the cash they withdrew from banks. Another likely reason is there are rumours among netizens that the government will impose tax on bank balances. As per our records, the circulation of cash came down by 20 per cent compared to the pre-demonetisation period,” the source said.

Secretary of the Federation of Bank Employees’ Association M.S. Kumar said the number of deposits with banks came down and this was having an impact on the cash chests. “The big branches that used to see deposits of `50 lakh and above per day before the demonetisation are getting only `2 lakh to `5 lakh of deposits at present. But, the withdrawals are increasing day-by-day. The city is having about 1,000 branches of all banks, of which 250 are big branches. The big Bank customers are facing problems in withdrawing money from banks and ATMs. Only 40 per cent of the ATMs are functioning after the WannaCry issue, and the recent RBI circular to bankers has dried up 85 per cent of ATMs in the city.

The secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association (AP & TS), B. Seetha Rambabu, said the circular was internal and the RBI did not upload it on its portal.

“As per the circular, banks should not fill cash in ATMs till they upgrade software to avoid malware like WannaCry. Issues between ATM agencies and banks, the cash crisis and malware scare led to the drying up of 85 per cent of ATMs in the city,” he said.

V. Suguna, a homemaker from Kondapur, branches are facing the problem of lesser deposits and higher withdrawals. Due to this reason, bankers are distributing the available cash in a ration system. Those who are seeking withdrawals said that no bank was providing sufficient currency. “I have an account in SBI and my husband has accounts in Axis Bank and ICICI Bank. My two children are having accounts in other banks. We are unable to withdraw even `10,000 from banks or ATMs. Whenever we visit the bank, they say ‘No Cash’. How long we have to wait for withdrawing cash? ATMs have become puppets in air conditioned rooms,” she said.

Mr Kailash Agarwal, a general store owner from Amberpet said that it was horrible for small businesses. “We need cash. When we go to wholesalers they demand cash and customers demand card payments. Banks are not allowing us to withdraw even the settled amount from POS machines. Our cash is blocked with banks,” he said. up to `1 lakh are getting up to `25,000,” he said.

Another source from the RBI said that the RBI supplied `1,000 crore for Telangana banks and `3,000 for the banks in Andhra Pradesh on March 15. “Recently, the RBI supplied some more currency. After demonetisation, both the Telugu states got `35,000 crore. But, compared with other states, the crisis is still more acute in Telugu states. We are expecting some more cash by the end of this month,” the source explained.