Cash Crunch Update: SBI Allows Withdrawals From PoS; Raid On Hoarders Begin!
As per the new guidelines, only debit card holders can use such PoS kiosks to withdraw cash.
2 days ago we had reported about the severe cash crunch which is affecting almost entire India.
Panic has already set in, as people are queuing up outside ATMs, and now, people are even worshipping outside ATMs for withdrawing cash!
Here we bring in some latest updates on the ongoing cash issue:
SBI Allows Withdrawals From PoS
In a noble gesture, State Bank of India or SBI has allowed cash withdrawals from their Point of Sale outlets, across India, without any charges.
There are around 6 lakh such kiosks across India, and 5 lakh of them are enabled to dispense cash. Usually, there are some fixed charges for withdrawing cash via these PoS outlets, but as of now, all such charges have been withdrawn.
As per the new guidelines, only debit card holders can use such PoS kiosks to withdraw cash. Rs 1000 is the limit for users from Tier 1 and 2 cities, and Rs 2000 for users from Tier 3 to Tier 6 cities.
Prepaid Mobile Recharge Volume Dips
Meanwhile, overall transactions related to mobile prepaid recharge have drastically gone down, pan-India. This has happened due to a severe cash crunch, as ATMs are running dry.
An Airtel distributor said,
“The present impact is nowhere like the grim situation post-demonetisation, but there is definitely a 5-10 per cent dip in footfalls for prepaid recharges over the past few days amid..”
At the same time, digital recharges have gone up, but the proportion is less, compared to the dip in cash recharges.
Rajan Mathews, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India has said that they are monitoring the situation, and there hasn’t been any ‘alarming’ dip as such.
Income Tax Raids Hoarders Of Cash!
And, Income Tax Dept. has finally pulled up their socks, and have started raids to nab hoarders of cash, across India.
Around 30 to 35 raids have been conducted across Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, targeted at those locations where hoarders have hidden cash.
Although the cash recovered is not that much, but still, the news of raids will deter other hoarders from piling up their cash reserves.
As per RBI, Rs 70,000 to Rs 1 lakh crore is needed to plug the gap in cash availability, which has suddenly become big. It is expected that the situation may improve in next 2 weeks.
We will keep you updated, as we receive more news.
