Rush for cash in banks, ATMs eases in Thrissur

THRISSUR: All the 821 ATMs in the district would be recalibrated to dispense the new 2000 and 500 denomination notes in the coming seven to 10 days, RBI Lead Bank Divisional Manager R.R. Kanakambaran, said. 56 out of the 57ATMs of Canara Bank in the district were recalibrated by Monday evening while most of the ATMs of State banks (SBT and SBI) have been recalibrated, he noted. “Earlier, the agency for which the ATM works were outsourced by banks had been taking two to three hours for recalibration and now with them updating their skills, these works are being completed at each ATM within 30 to 45 minutes,” Mr Kanakambaran told DC on Monday.

Meanwhile, SBT manager at the AGM office in Thrissur near Paramekkavu Temple P.K. Ravi said that the rush at the bank had returned to normal and the queue at the ATM of his branch that functions all through the day had also come down considerably . But there are also reports of the recalibrated ATMs not getting enough money from the banks concerned.The general trend in Thrissur town on Monday was no money at most of the ATMs and less rush inside banks. With the sale of swiping machines going up three-fold and transactions using plastic money increasing four-fold after the new monetary policy, the trend in the coming days would be a transition from a cash economy to a cashless one, bank officials with whom DC talked to in Thrissur said.