₹2000 note recall: No extra rush in Patna banks; some rue exchange rules

It was business as usual for the banks in Patna on Tuesday, the day that marked official withdrawal of ₹2,000 currency notes from circulation.

No special counter was seen operating for exchange or deposit of these notes.

“There is no extra rush of customers with ‘pink notes’. The overall business is usual. However, deposits of cash in the form of the high value notes into accounts is considerably high. Yesterday, we received deposits of more than ₹14 lakh in form of ₹2,000 denomination notes,” said a cashier of Raja Bazar branch of the Union Bank of India, adding that final figures would be clear in the evening.

While most customers did not face any problem in depositing the high-value notes into their accounts, those seeking to exchange these notes had to undergo the trouble of filling up requisition forms with all credentials for easy identification and attach a photocopy of the valid identity proof. “I have come to the Bank of India branch for exchange of ₹2,000 notes as the nearby Union Bank branch refused to accept them, citing absence of the guidelines from its headquarters,” said Aviram Ranjan, a Bandar Bagicha resident.

Private banks, too, have made the filling of requisition slips and submission of photocopy of the ID proof mandatory for exchange. “We recognise what our bosses say. We don’t go by the statements of RBI or the SBI. We follow rules in black and white,” said a cashier at HDFC Bank, Raja Bazar, when reminded about the media reports about hassle-free exchange assured by the RBI by an impatient customer.

Shailesh Chandra Sinha, a resident of SK Puri, had to go home for collecting the copy of ID proof to exchange the high-value notes as the local SBI branch sought details of credentials and ID proof. “There was no display for direction of exchange of ₹2000 notes at the bank. Bank officials are reluctant to exchange,” said Sinha.

Prafull Kumar, general secretary of Bank of India employees’ association (Bihar chapter), however, claimed all branches are exchanging ₹2,000 notes without asking for any ID proof.

Big retail houses, however, are accepting the high currency notes without any issues. “They are sending promotional messages on mobiles, asking people to come with big notes and make purchases,” said Ravi Shankar Ratnakar, a medical professional at Rajiv Nagar.

Banks across Jharkhand also did not report any rush on Tuesday, HTC adds from Ranchi.

While most branches have provisioned for dedicated counter to exchange notes, there was hardly any queue for the purpose.

Prasidh Singh, a senior citizen visiting the State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Ranchi for the exchange, said, “My tenant gave me ₹2,000 banknotes long back. I have come to exchange it. I was worried there could be a long queue but there was only one person before me,” said Singh.