Banks To Remain Closed For 4 Days From Thursday

New Delhi: In one of the longest shutdowns in recent memory, banks will remain closed for 4 days in a row from Thursday in many states due to Holi, Good Friday and the weekend that follows.

The news meant that customers will not be able to conduct transactions in banks. However, according to officials, banks will try to ensure that ATMs remain operational during these holidays.

Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand will observe a longer holiday period under the Negotiable Instruments Act from Wednesday. Bihar will have just one working day this week, with holidays starting from Tuesday, March 22, itself. In states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, however, there will not be a holiday on Holi.
According to RBI's holiday calendar, the National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) for retail online transfers and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) for high-value ones will be closed on March 25 on account of Good Friday. Banks are trying to ensure that ATMs remain operational during these days so that people don't have any cash problem, a senior public sector bank official said. They are trying to put higher denomination notes in ATM machines to ensure meeting the cash demand, the official added. 

Banks will be shut for customers on April 1 due to the customary annual closing of accounts. The spate of holidays will delay cheque clearances and operations such as loan delivery. Online fund transfers routed through the Reserve Bank's electronic platforms, will not take place from Friday to Sunday. 

Though almost all the banks have privatized cash loading in ATMs, there could be problems of cash starvation due to the long holiday.