Bankers on holiday, ATMs go cashless

A series of holidays starting from October 2 to October 6, has put many Bangaloreans as well as visitors to the City to inconvenience as several ATMs have gone dry.

People wearing a disappointed look and coming out empty-handed from ATM kiosks was a common sight at many places in the City on Saturday and Sunday. According to bank officials and customers, the ATMs in commercial areas are the ones that have gone dry in the past two days. The situation, they say, was slightly better in residential areas.

“Starting from October 2, there has been a series of government holidays. Cash stocked at ATMs has exhausted and banks have not been able to replenish due to holidays,” said N Venugopal, General Secretary, Bank Employees’ Association. 

Anand B, a resident of Srinagar in the City, said he had to pay his house rent by the 5th of every month. 

“When I went to the ATMs of a couple of banks on Saturday, I was disappointed to find the message that there was no cash,” he said.

Latha Kulkarni, a working professional from Kammanahalli, said that she had to cancel her shopping plans on Sunday as she could not withdraw money from a few ATM centres located in her area. 

An official from the State Bank of Mysore said: “During the festival season, there is a huge rush at ATM centres. This is the main reason, probably, as to why a few ATMs might have run out of cash. But this is not the situation at all the ATMs.”

“Some people withdraw cash from ATMs more than they require. They have to be judicious, particulary during holidays,” he opined.

Some private banks outsource the work of replenishing the ATMs. These agencies load cash even during holidays. Thus, private bank ATMs normally do not go cashless, the official explained.