Three-Day Bank Strike From September 28, What SBI And Other Banks Are Advising Customers To Do?

In India, banks play a pivotal role in the nation's financial ecosystem, handling a vast array of transactions and operations daily. According to recent figures, bank employees across the country will go on strike from September 28 to 30 over demands for a five-day work week, impacting an estimated eight lakh employees.

While digital services like internet banking and ATMs are expected to remain functional, the closure of physical branches could disrupt various services. Notably, cheque processing could face significant delays, with an estimated Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore worth of cheques potentially being delayed. Such a disruption could have ripple effects on working capital cycles, particularly for smaller businesses.

Other critical services such as cash deposits, withdrawals, government treasury operations, foreign-exchange transactions, and money-market activities could also be affected as many of these services require branch-level staff. However, private-sector banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank are not part of the strike, and their operations are expected to continue uninterrupted. For routine transactions, customers can rely on ATMs, UPI, net banking, and mobile banking.