Some traders make hay on long holidays

This spate of holidays may be a blessing in disguise for some. Bank holidays make traders economically better-off by giving them an opportun...

This spate of holidays may be a blessing in disguise for some. Bank holidays make traders economically better-off by giving them an opportunity to save interest on their payments as the cheques stand uncleared during holidays.

It may just prove wrong the theory that there should be more working days and less holidays to increase productivity and profitability.

The consecutive bank holidays from Friday in Mumbai will see traders save interest costs on their payouts or avail discounts for early payments as the cheques delivered to the creditors will be debited after a gap of minimum six to seven days, particularly in PSU banks, said a trader in textiles industry.

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‘‘I made payments worth more than Rs 5 lakh on Thursday and that will be debited to my account on April 16 or 17 due to consecutive holidays next week, accruing interest savings of around Rs 1,250,’’ said Radheshyam Bansal, a trader.

Banks with ATM networks are expecting a large chunk of customers to open accounts with them to avail of the anytime and anywhere banking services. The ‘holidays business’ will not only make bank employees happy, but also make bank managements with high personal banking targets and ATMs vendors a happy breed.

The ATM industry is set to get critical mass in such a scenario. There was a time not a long ago when three to four holidays in a row spoilt the party for a commoner, who found the ATM machine without any cash. This is, hopefully, a thing of the past now with banks deploying special arrangements to woo the customers, said an official of State Bank of India. ‘‘What most of the banks have done is put a constant online monitoring system in place and also increase the number of times they replenish cash,’’ said a foreign banker.

IDBI Bank head (ATMs) Shameek Bhargava said, ‘‘On a normal day, we keep around Rs 7-8 lakh in an ATM on an average, although the amount varies from area to area. During holidays, we double the cash available in the ATMs.’’

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Generally banks keep cash for two days in ATMs. Now they are increasing the load with four-day cash. The likes of ICICI Bank, UTI Bank and HDFC Bank also have a system of online monitoring of all ATMs, which gives an indication of the cash levels in all the machines. Thus, during bank holidays and other periods of high withdrawals, the bank can take immediate action to replenish cash if necessary.