Despite heavy injections by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) into the banking system, the automated teller machines (ATMs) in various cities across the country have run out of cash as citizens withdraw money ahead of Eid.
After the Finance Ministry’s decision to levy 0.6 percent Withholding Tax (WHT) on all banking transactions and a fear of Zakaat deduction on first Ramzan, most of the account holders withdrew their cash from the banks.
The SBP on last Friday had injected above Rs 1.058 trillion in the banking system as the banks throughout the country were complaining about the shortage of liquidity. Earlier the central bank had injected Rs 821 billion in the system on July 2.
”After the implementation of WHT on pay-orders, demand drafts and cheque withdrawals, people are giving priority on cash payments instead of relying on the banking system,” said a banker. “People are also withdrawing money from ATMs to avoid paying tax, which have created a lot of problems for electronic banking customers and have put extra burden on ATMs,” he added.
“Bankers’ dealing with customers in banks and ATMs machines situated at I.I Chundrigar Road in Karachi are very slow because of the internet problems,” said Mohammad Tahir, a customer of Standard Chartered Bank. “I had informed the bank about slow network so many times, but the management paid no heed to my complaint,” he added.
“Our bank keeps Rs 800,000 to Rs 1 million cash in an ATM at one time but after afternoon our ATMs are out of cash. Banks are allowed to fill machines three times, in the morning, afternoon and in the evening,” a banker said.
Seema Siddiqui, a bank’s customer, said, “ATMs can never be used in the evening as there is no cash in the machines. We have to check different ATMs for cash withdrawal for our personal use.”
The central bank has directed all group heads of banking operations to fill the ATMs machines to avoid customers’ complaints and ensure availability of ATM services round the clock and put in place comprehensive operation procedures to timely resolve the cases of cash replenishment, breakdown of ATM systems and network problems, said an SBP spokesman.
The banks’ branches are also not providing fresh currency notes, which the State Bank has claimed that it has provided Rs 141 billion fresh currency notes to the commercial banks for the general public.
However, the banks did not initiate installing ATMs machines at ‘A Category’ Exchange Companies as per the direction of the SBP.
Malik Bostan, a forex dealer said, “The Association of Forex Dealers has forwarded all the suitable locations to the concerned banks for installing their ATMs in the exchange branches.” He said the banks have promised to fix the ATMs at desirable places after Eid.
