Goa ATMs not hit by cash crunch, but cut in currency supplied worrying banks

NT NETWORK

PANAJI

Although the automated teller machines (ATMs) in Goa have not been affected by the cash crunch witnessed in many other states, several banks in the state, however, said that they are worried about the slight decrease in the cash made available to them in the recent weeks.

Speaking to this daily, a senior official of a small public sector bank said that the supply of currency from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decreased and it is worrying banks, which depend on the State Bank of India (SBI) currency chest for cash.

The official said that RBI has not provided any explanation for the decrease in the supply of cash and the only reason suspected is to encourage digital transactions. The official said that the unofficial communication from the RBI to banks is to refill the ATMs with less cash.

“We are filling our ATMs at 80 per cent of the

capacity but luckily there are no complaints of ATMs running dry.” Another official of a public sector undertaking (PSU) bank with currency chest said that they are circulating currency received from the public so as to avoid facing a shortage of cash. He said that the currency situation is normal.

A spurt in withdrawals in certain states has resulted in ATMs running out of cash. ATMs in cities of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka on Tuesday and Wednesday were either not operating or displayed ‘no cash’ signs.

Although the government and the RBI asserted that there is no currency shortage, a research report of the SBI pegged the cash shortfall in the system at Rs 70,000 crore.

In Goa, there are no reports of cash crisis and banks said that their ATMs are running like usual. One banker said that the cash crisis is only in pockets in select states and Goa luckily has not been affected by it.