Depositors’ agony: Long queues at Yes Bank ATMs, netbanking down

New Delhi, March 6 (SocialNews.XYZ) Any fiasco in the banking sector eventually takes a toll on the common man and the Yes Bank fiasco has been no different, as people across the country have had to stand in long queues to withdraw their money. Also, both net banking and the bank's mobile app services were down.

Moreover, ATMs in several places have run out of cash, adding to the despair.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday capped withdrawal from Yes Bank at Rs 50,000 and effected moratorium on Yes Bank from 6 p.m. on Thursday to April 3.

Further, it is not just long queues and low-on-cash ATMs that is harrowing the depositors, even online banking and mobile app services of the private lender are not working.

Delhi-based Pranay Bhardwaj could neither log on to his mobile app nor netbanking site. He fears he would not be able to withdraw cash for a longer period.

With withdrawals from Yes Bank capped at Rs 50,000 per depositor, tension among customers of the crisis-hit bank in Delhi-NCR was evident. Though there were no long queues outside bank premises, but rush inside bank branches was "huge".

"Usually there are very few people inside the bank for deposit or withdrawal, but now it feels like we have entered a government bank. The rush is huge inside," said Karan Gera who works at Noida film city.

Another person, Amiya, who has a current account in the bank's Sant Nagar branch said that in case the withdrawal limits continue for too long, he may be rendered cashless.

"All my payments by the debtors are made to this account through cheques, plus have a huge amount of money deposited into the account for business transactions. If the limits are not removed I would soon turn cashless," he said.

Nearly 1,600 km away from the national capital in Hyderabad, Peddi Srinivas fears for his son's career owing to the cash crunch.

Planning for his son's higher education, Peddi Srinivas deposited money in Yes Bank but with the bank in crisis, he is worried over the impact it may have on his plans. Srinivas, who has his account in Somajiguda branch of Yes Bank in Hyderabad, now wants to withdraw Rs 5 lakh he had deposited.

"He told me that for emergencies the depositors will be allowed to withdraw more than Rs 50,000. For this I have to submit the proof. The procedure will be known in a day or two. He said they let me know what are the documents to be submitted and assured me that I will get back the money and there is nothing to worry," Srinivas told IANS.

Srinivas's son is in his final year engineering and he wants to do MS or MBA in the US or any other country.

Although under moratorium, depositors can withraw above the mandated amount for exceptional cases such as medical treatment, higher education, marriage or other ceremonies and in case of any other unavoidable emergency.

In Maharashtra, distressed and angry customers of the crisis-hit Yes Bank trooped outside scores of branches and ATMs in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nagpur and other cities on Friday to withdraw money.

Panicky customers rushed to the ATMs since late Thursday for withdrawals but many soon became dry, leaving them exasperated, especially in the suburbs and residential areas, and the scene was repeated on Friday morning in commercial areas of south Mumbai, Bandra Kurla Complex, Andheri, Lower Parel, etc.

Besides, customers said certain UPI transactions which are on the Yes Bank PSP are reportedly not going through, all types of accounts are inaccessible even via netbanking, and many fintech players are hit badly.

Mumbaikars are particularly peeved as the RBI orders came on the eve of the popular Holi festival on Monday, followed by Gudi Padva after a fortnight, the ongoing examination season when cash in hand is a necessity, not to mention the long weekend breaks thousands have planned in advance.

With its automatic teller machines (ATM) not operational and withdrawals from other bank ATMs blocked, account holders of Yes Bank are waiting at the branches with tense faces here.

The branch officials though explaining with patience to the customers that the non performing assets (NPA) has put the Yes Bank in financial difficulties, the response is one of anguish, disbilief and pain.

At the Raja Annamalaipuram Branch in Chennai, customers were waiting with tokens for their turn to withdraw money and those who came in the evening were asked to come on Saturday for withdrawing money.

G.S. Balaji, an electronics engineer, told IANS: "It was a shock for me when a friend of mine woke me up in the afternoon and told me about the Yes Bank issue. I have a Savings Bank Account with the bank and have to withdraw cash to pay for my child's school fees."

"It is no more Yes Bank. It is 'No Bank'," said another customer at the Raja Annamalaipuram Branch.

Source: IANS