After nearly a year of persistent appeals and requests from various bank employee unions, the possibility of implementing a five-day banking week is drawing closer.
28 July Meeting
Sources with credible information reveal that during a meeting held on July 28 by the Indian Banking Association (IBA), which represents bank management across India, the industry has shown interest in the proposal made by bank employee unions to designate all Saturdays as bank holidays. The IBA has taken steps to present this proposal to the Ministry of Finance for official endorsement.
If this proposal is granted approval, bank branches would operate for only five days a week, specifically from Monday to Friday. The branch working hours might be extended by 45 minutes.
Confirmation from Senior Executives
As per the The Hindu Business Line: Despite sending an email to the IBA for verification, we have yet to receive a response at the time of press. Nonetheless, senior executives from both private and public sector banks have verified that the recent IBA meeting indeed approved the notion of making Saturday a holiday. Multiple executives, well-versed in the situation, affirm that the matter is now awaiting final approval from the finance ministry.
Bankers are optimistic about the approval of their proposal by the finance department. According to sources, informal conversations with the ministry suggest that the government is inclined to accept the request from the bankers’ union.
Digital Transactions
Given that over 70 percent of daily cash-related transactions are conducted digitally, the industry argues that the necessity for a six-day banking week is less significant. Bank branches nowadays function more as customer service centers, with the majority of banking activities being carried out digitally. A senior executive from a private bank emphasized that except for certain agreements requiring customer signatures, the need for physical visits to branches has diminished.
Presently, bank branches operate on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays of the month, with the second and fourth Saturdays designated as holidays. However, before 2015, banks operated for six days a week, including all Saturdays in a month.