Messages claiming banks will remain closed for six days in the first week of September -- from September 2 to September 5 and then on September 8 and 9 -- are going viral on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter and on instant messaging applications like WhatsApp.
This is one of such messages -
The messages also claim that ATMs “may” remain cashless and advise people to “plan accordingly”.
ORIGIN
The rumour seems to have originated from someone mixing information from different sources and putting it together. Let us explain.
September 2 is a Sunday. September 3 happens to be Janmashtami, which is a restricted holiday in many states, a working day in some states and a holiday in a few other states.
There have been reports about a call for strike by employees of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) -- the members of United Front of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees -- on September 4 and September 5 against the Central government for refusing demands related to employees’ Provident Fund and pension.
September 8 is a second Saturday, a bank holiday and September 9, a Sunday again.
VERIFICATION
A report by news agency IANS quoted National Organization of Bank Workers Vice President Ashwani Rana as saying, “The message going around on social media that banks will be closed for six days in the first week of September due to holidays and bank strike is not correct." Rana also said that the strike called by the employees of RBI will not have much impact on the day-to-day operations of public and private sector banks.
The Department of Financial Services also tweeted about the rumour, denying it.
#Rumours on social media abt closure of banks in 1st week of Sep. Banks to function as usual in Sept. Ist week! NO… https://t.co/pqs8J31mKS
— DFS (@DFS_India) 1535699347000
METHODOLOGY
Times Fact-Check team got in touch with the Punjab National Bank to confirm the messages are fake. Sunil Khattar, Manager, Punjab National Bank, Dilshad Garden branch, confirmed that the messages going around about the bank holidays in the first week of September are fake.
The IANS reported quoted an HDFC bank official as saying, “Monday, September 3, is not a pan-India holiday for banks. Banks in some states will remain closed as per the Negotiable Instruments Act. This, however, will not impact the online banking transactions nor it will affect the operation of ATMs."
For instance, banks in Uttar Pradesh will have a holiday on September 3. Banks in Maharashtra, Delhi and Haryana will be functional on September 3. You may check the bank holiday list here.
Strike by the RBI employees may affect large-sum online transactions, as the strike may affect the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) systems, but not smaller amounts. Also, on the days RBI employees are going on mass casual leaves, cheque clearances may also get hit.
An official from HDFC bank also confirmed that messages claiming ATMs will be cashless are baseless and said that holiday or not, ATMs will be replenished.
VERDICT
Times Fact-Check team verified that messages claiming banks will not be functional on most days in the first week of September, and that ATMs will be cashless, are fake.
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