Long lines of workers and people on February 11 wait for their turn to withdraw cash from ATMs in Binh Duong province, where many industrial parks and processing zones are based (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - To betterprepare for Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year), the biggest holiday of the year,the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and authorities where industrial zones locatehave taken several solutions to deal with ATM overload.
According to data collected by commercialbanks, about 80 percent of transactions at ATMs are cash withdrawals. As peopleoften receive wages and bonuses before Tet, the rising demand for cash can leadto crippling burdens for ATM machines in the days prior to the holiday.
Nga, a resident of Dong Da district, Hanoi,told the Nong thon Ngay nay (Countryside Today) newspaper that to avoid thelong queue of people waiting to do transactions, she had to withdraw money earlier,from February 8.
Meanwhile, ATMs in Bac Thang LongIndustrial Zone, Dong Anh district are under the huge pressure as workers wantto withdraw money before heading home for Tet.
Thao, from the northern province of VinhPhuc, a worker at the industrial zone, said ATM overloads happened annuallyduring the holiday.
“People plan to withdraw from 15 million VNDto 20 million VND (660 USD to 880 USD) but the banks limit it at 5 million VND (220VND) per transaction so we have to wait. A lot of them have given up already,”she said.
The workers have to wait 30 to 35 minutesto do transactions at ATMs. The situation is more serious at rush hours in theafternoon and days near Tet.
Do Minh Tu, deputy governor of the SBV,said that the bank would tighten cash management in all localities and be readyto mobilise resources to satisfy the demand for cash.
Dao Thi Phuong, deputy director of SBVbranch in Bac Ninh province, stressed timely cash restocking is needed toprevent ATM overloads.
“Commercial banks need to stock an adequateamount of cash to refill ATMs and collaborate with police to ensure securityduring the process,” she said.
In Bac Giang province, another hub ofindustrial zones, different solutions have been used to tackle the problem.
According to Tran Xuan Dung, deputy head ofthe provincial branch of Vietcombank, three additional machines are set up at VanTrung Industrial Zone.
Also, instead of transferring money toworkers’ bank accounts, Bac Giang Texile Company asked Vietcombank to bringcash to its office and directly distribute year-end bonuses to some 6,000workers.
“At least, it reduces 6,000 people doingcash withdrawals and helps to ease the pressure on ATMs,” said Dung.
The situation also happened in the southernprovince of Binh Duong, which is packed with industrial parks and processingzones. Workers, mostly from other provinces, queued up for long lines in frontof ATMs. Many said they have come to several different ATMs at several locationsto try their luck, but to no avail.
According to a Government decree, banksthat let their ATMs remain broken, short of cash or other issues thatinconvenience customers can be fined 10 million - 15 million VND (441-661 USD).A hotline number is also required to be present in all ATMs so customers canquickly report problems.
According to statistics released by theSBV, the country has more than 127 million banking cards of all kinds, morethan 17,300 ATMs and 260,000 point-of-sale machines. - VNA
According to data collected by commercialbanks, about 80 percent of transactions at ATMs are cash withdrawals. As peopleoften receive wages and bonuses before Tet, the rising demand for cash can leadto crippling burdens for ATM machines in the days prior to the holiday.
Nga, a resident of Dong Da district, Hanoi,told the Nong thon Ngay nay (Countryside Today) newspaper that to avoid thelong queue of people waiting to do transactions, she had to withdraw money earlier,from February 8.
Meanwhile, ATMs in Bac Thang LongIndustrial Zone, Dong Anh district are under the huge pressure as workers wantto withdraw money before heading home for Tet.
Thao, from the northern province of VinhPhuc, a worker at the industrial zone, said ATM overloads happened annuallyduring the holiday.
“People plan to withdraw from 15 million VNDto 20 million VND (660 USD to 880 USD) but the banks limit it at 5 million VND (220VND) per transaction so we have to wait. A lot of them have given up already,”she said.
The workers have to wait 30 to 35 minutesto do transactions at ATMs. The situation is more serious at rush hours in theafternoon and days near Tet.
Do Minh Tu, deputy governor of the SBV,said that the bank would tighten cash management in all localities and be readyto mobilise resources to satisfy the demand for cash.
Dao Thi Phuong, deputy director of SBVbranch in Bac Ninh province, stressed timely cash restocking is needed toprevent ATM overloads.
“Commercial banks need to stock an adequateamount of cash to refill ATMs and collaborate with police to ensure securityduring the process,” she said.
In Bac Giang province, another hub ofindustrial zones, different solutions have been used to tackle the problem.
According to Tran Xuan Dung, deputy head ofthe provincial branch of Vietcombank, three additional machines are set up at VanTrung Industrial Zone.
Also, instead of transferring money toworkers’ bank accounts, Bac Giang Texile Company asked Vietcombank to bringcash to its office and directly distribute year-end bonuses to some 6,000workers.
“At least, it reduces 6,000 people doingcash withdrawals and helps to ease the pressure on ATMs,” said Dung.
The situation also happened in the southernprovince of Binh Duong, which is packed with industrial parks and processingzones. Workers, mostly from other provinces, queued up for long lines in frontof ATMs. Many said they have come to several different ATMs at several locationsto try their luck, but to no avail.
According to a Government decree, banksthat let their ATMs remain broken, short of cash or other issues thatinconvenience customers can be fined 10 million - 15 million VND (441-661 USD).A hotline number is also required to be present in all ATMs so customers canquickly report problems.
According to statistics released by theSBV, the country has more than 127 million banking cards of all kinds, morethan 17,300 ATMs and 260,000 point-of-sale machines. - VNA
VNA
