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Business Insider IndiaLeading Indian banks revise banking hours, limit non-essential services and thin down staff amid Coronavirus spreading in the countryBCCL/BI India
Many private sector banks in India revised their business hours to between 10:00am to 2:00pm till March 31 to fight the Coronavirus pandemic.
Public sector banks will still be open as usual but certain non-essential services, like passbook updates, may no longer be available till March 31.
Banks across the board are cutting down on their staff and allowing employees to take leave without wage-cuts if they exhibit symptoms.
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This week some of the biggest banks India have decided to trim down on non-essential services — like passbook updates and over-the-counter cheque collection — to encourage their customers to stay at home until March 31. This includes the country’s largest lender, the State Bank of India (SBI).
A few private players like HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank also decided to cut down the number of hours that their doors will be open to just four hours a during the day.
According to the Indian Banks Association (IBA) public sector banks will continue to provide the following four essential services:
Cash deposits and withdrawals
Clearing of cheques
Remittances
Government transactions
Last week, on March 20, multiple banks already instructed their offices and branches to reduce their operating staff to at least 50%. Many are also encouraging their staff to take leave if should they exhibit any symptoms without any cut in salary.
While banks can’t shut down amid the Coronavirus pandemic since banking is an essential service, these new steps have been taken to help with social distancing in order to limit the spread of the infection.
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Here’s a full list of how long each bank in India will be open and what services will be available until March 31:
In case a customer needs to put in a request for a new ATM card, cheque book, account statement, KYC update or Aadhar linking — they are encouraged to leave their requests in the box outside the branch. A staff member will get back to them via phone to address the request.
Clearing and cheque collection will also occur through the designated box outside the branch.
Canara Bank
Working hours: No changes so far
Services suspended: Anything defined as ‘non-essential’ like passbook printing and note exchange
In a notice issued late last night, human resources instructed Canara Bank to identify critical services to arrive at the minimum staff capacity. On any day, no more than 15% of the employees will be present at a given branch, according to the document, seen by Business Insider.
The bank shall continue to handle cash withdrawals and deposits, clearing of cheques, remittances and government transactions.
ICICI Bank
Working hours: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm till March 31
Services suspended: No changes so far
Notice issued by ICICI Bank advises to avoid physical handling of cash and use digital channels for payments to reduce the risk of transmission.
bank4
Working hours: No changes so far
Services suspended: No changes so far
The bank has encouraged customers to avail digital services to avoid having to come down directly to the bank.
IndusInd Bank
Working hours: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm till March 31
Services suspended: Anything defined as ‘non-essential’ like passbook printing and note exchange
The bank shall continue to handle cash withdrawals and deposits, clearing of cheques, remittances and government transactions.
Punjab National Bank
Working hours: No changes so far.
Services suspended: No changes so far
Punjab National Bank (PNB) hasn’t revised the way that it will be operating during the Coronavirus outbreak. However, it is encouraging its customer to avail its online services as much as possible — even when applying for a new cheque book.