Limited-time banking after long break

Banks bump under transaction rush

FE REPORT | July 25, 2024 00:00:00

A long queue forms at an ATM booth at Motijheel of Dhaka, as life starts returning to normal after a five-day holiday prompted by unrest and curfew. — FE Photo by Shafiqul Alam

As if floodgates opened as banks saw a rush of accountholders to withdraw cash and have other banking-related services when operations resumed Wednesday after an exigent long break.

Banks reopened certain branches for a curfew-truncated time -- as did offices and businesses -- after a three-day additional general holiday after last weekend because of an unusual situation over quota-reform movement by students.

Bankers say mobile-phone financial-service providers as well as general accountholders came to the branches to transact although lower-number branches remained open. And the banking time also shrank to four hours from 11:00 in the morning. The same-length banking hours will also be today (Thursday).

Banks also provided import, export, and remittance-related services to the clients, bankers told the FE.

"We had huge transactions Wednesday as total five days' transactions were closed because of the public holiday and general holiday," said Syed Mahbur Rahman, managing director and CEO of Mutual Trust Bank (MTB).

Mr. Rahman said that there were also huge deposits the braches received on the day.

People were also seen queuing in front of ATM (automated teller machine) booths to withdraw cash.

Banking activities had been closed for five days, including Friday and Saturday on the weekend. An internet blackout began Friday that also affected the banking booth and MFS (Mobile phone financial services) activities.

Under such circumstances, the central asked the banks to keep open their branches up to 50 per cent on Wednesday and 75 per cent today (Thursday).

Md Shaheen Iqbal, a deputy managing director of BRAC Bank, told the FE that the bank branches saw huge clients mostly for cash-withdrawal purposes.

He said many could not draw money even from ATM booths during curfew as the banks could not refill the banking kiosks after being emptied. During the general holiday, accountholders of their own bank's ATMs got the services.

Banks' executives, however, hope that the transaction will be normal today (Thursday) with the rush tapering out.

[email protected]