No frantic rush in city to deposit Rs 2,000 notes

HYDERABAD: A day after the Reserve Bank of India announced its decision to withdraw 2,000 notes, the frantic rush and frenzy - which was witnessed during the demonetisation in November 2016 with serpentine queues - was missing on Saturday as bank deposits of the denomination were off to a slow start across the city.
Since the actual exchange of 2,000 note denomination is expected to start from Tuesday, some customers turned up at local cash deposit machines (CDMs) and banks to make their deposits that included 2,000 notes.

"The moment we learnt about the RBI's decision, I felt that it is easier to surrender them at the bank rather than try to circulate them at petrol stations. So, I just deposited them at a local CDM," Vamsi Krishna, a techie residing in Secunderabad, told STOI.
Bank officials, however, said that there wasn't much rush for depositing the notes. "The 2,000 notes are much less in circulation when compared to other denominations. We barely had any significant deposits during working hours considering that it was a Saturday," an official with Canara Bank in Ameerpet told STOI.
Officials also said that they have already stopped issuing these notes from their end and that preparations are afoot to begin the exchanges from May 23. "We are accepting the 2,000 denominations from customers who are making deposits. These notes are not recycled by the CDMs and we have also withdrawn all such currencies from ATMs as well," SBI deputy general manager Satyanarayana Panigrahi told STOI.
Bank officials also admit that the move doesn't affect the public adversely since the currency still stands as legal tender till September 30. Some of the major branches of HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and SBI across Lakdikapul, Begumpet and Ameerpet are going to set up special counters for the exchanges to avoid any hassle for customers.
While the RBI did not specify a limit for depositing the 2,000 currency notes in bank accounts, exchanging a maximum of 20,000 (10 notes of 2,000) for other currency notes will be allowed at a time.
"For those who are looking to exchange a larger number of 2,000 notes, then they will have to fill up an annexure form with their PAN details, among others," Satyanarayana said.