Dedicated Counters In Place As Banks Gear Up to Exchange Rs 2,000 Notes

Dedicated counters have been set up at banks, anticipating a rush to swap Rs 2,000 notes for smaller denominations.

The Reserve Bank of India said that the process of swapping the Rs 2,000 notes, which will remain legal tender will begin Tuesday, May 23. The process will continue till the end of September.

The high-value note can be exchanged without a requisition slip or identity proof, the RBI said. However, officials of some banks said that they would allow deposits or exchange of Rs 2,000 notes only if a person shows identification proof.

In many states, the banks have sought the help of the local police to regulate queues in case of a heavy rush. Banks have also cautioned against trying to deposit or exchange fake notes. The banks warned that in such cases, police cases would be registered.

In Uttar Pradesh, 12,000 bank branches have decided to set up separate counters for depositing the notes. Banks are not expecting a huge rush as only 10 per cent of the Rs 2,000 notes are in circulation said Anil Tiwari, spokesperson of the United Forum of Bank Unions.

Tiwari also added that account holders whose KYC has been done can deposit any number of Rs 2,000 notes in their accounts and only words worth Rs 10,000 will be allowed.

"We would request the general public to ensure that they do not have any fake notes as FIR will be lodged against them for trying to deposit fake notes," Tiwari said.

"Banks have made complete arrangements for checking fake notes," he also added.

On Monday, Rs 2,000 banknotes worth around Rs 90 were deposited in banks and cash deposit machines in Lucknow.

In Bhatinda, Punjab, lead bank manager Manju Galhotra said that the lenders are fully geared up to accept the notes starting Tuesday. People need not panic and banks have been given instructions to accept the highest value currency notes, he added.