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During lockdown, India banks keeping more money on hand

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April 28, 2020

To ensure that banks and ATMs have enough cash to meet customers' needs while the coronavirus lockdown worldwide continues, banks in India are keeping up to three times as much as cash on hand. 

The country's second-largest public sector lender, Punjab National Bank, is keeping more than three times the amount of cash ready for its customers and similarly, HDFC Bank, the largest private lender, has 50% more cash in its ATMs than usual, according to an article in the Economic Times.

During the first 10 days of April as the pandemic increased across India, cash withdrawals were estimated to be 1.5 times the average withdrawal. To meet the needs of the banks and its customers, the Reserve Bank of India and the finance ministry worked out a strategy to ensure the ATMs had sufficient cash available to keep them from running out of funds and causing a public panic.

To date, the RBI has provided more cash to banks than ever before. Additionally, the demand for cash is higher in the residential areas than the business sector of the airports due to the lockdown. However, the ministry maintains that all ATMs will have sufficient cash to meet the demands of the customers.   

For more information on how the coronavirus has affected the ATM industry click here.