In suburban Thane, serpentine queues were seen at bank branches

The paucity of space in the branches, many of which are located in crowded neighbourhoods, meant the customers had to sweat it out in the open in a queue before being called in

People queue outside bank to exchange their old currency notes. Pic/PTI

Thane: The paucity of space in the branches, many of which are located in crowded neighbourhoods, meant the customers had to sweat it out in the open in a queue before being called in. A security guard outside HDFC Bank said even though it opens at 9.30 AM, anxious customers had formed a queue since 8.30 AM itself.

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Many of them wanting to exchange notes had to return disappointed as the bank did not have sufficient cash as the vehicle carrying it had not reached on time. An ICICI Bank branch located nearby had similar story of long queues but was exchanging cash till Rs 4,000 limit. One of SBI's Thane branches was giving cash and hence saw a huge rush. Appeals by banks not to worry and the fact that there is a 50-day window for depositing the older notes did not find many takers with people in large numbers thronging the banks.

Some were particularly unhappy that they are forced to show their ID proofs despite having completed the KYC formalities at the bank. All the banks' staff was out on the floor helping the harried customers who had to face newer ways of working. This was seen even in the case of state-run banks.
Syndicate Bank and Punjab National Bank branches in downtown Fort in the heart of the financial capital had staff out on the floor helping. In the satellite city of Navi Mumbai, people complained about slow systems leading to long queues.

A Bank of India branch manager in Seawoods said, "The business was as usual and there were not many customers who came for exchange of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes." However, foreign lenders did not seem to attract the same crowds, despite the government announcement of changing notes over the counter. The Fort's Citi Bank had low footfalls.

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