Banks across the country have been faced with a huge rush over the last few days as thousands of citizens descended in throngs due to the sudden implementation of the demonetization policy. While we’ve been standing in line panicked to exchange old currency notes before the bank runs out of cash, the citizens of Bengaluru were taken by surprise when a Canara Bank mobile ATM rolled through MG Road on Sunday evening.

This big blue van made its way around 5 30 PM in a bid to ease the stress by taking money straight to the people, cutting down on the seemingly endless queues you spot outside any and every working ATM and bank branch. Speaking to Deccan Herald, Canara Bank General Manager M M Chiniwar said, “I was taking a stroll in the evening on MG Road and found that most of the ATMs were running out of cash. So, I got our mobile ATM, which serves Bengaluru Rural customers, pressed into service.”

“The ATM van arrived at 5.30 pm and most of the people were happy to withdraw money in a short duration as they need not had to wait in longer queues at conventional ATMs,” he added.
The ATM is said to have helped around 800 customers withdraw an approximated Rs. 8 lakh in cash during its stint down MG Road. “ATMs are yet to be configured to dispense Rs 2,000 notes and engineers are working on it. We are expecting new Rs 500 notes. They will configure the ATMs in the next three or four days to dispense new notes of both the denominations,” he said. Mr. Chiniwar reassures customers stating that there’s no need to panic, when they approached RBI officials about the matter they were told that sufficient cash would arrive by Tuesday or Wednesday.
At a time when people have lost their lives while standing in line in this scramble for cash, initiatives like this ATM-on-wheels are hugely welcomed and we can only hope that other institutions follow suit to aid people’s transition.

Click here to read the complete report by Deccan Herald

Feature image source: Ramya Ramprabhu Ravichandran‎ via Facebook