RBI clears Sunday branch operations ahead of planned nationwide bank strike
The RBI has approved bank branch, ATM-linked branch and currency chest operations on Sunday, September 27, ahead of a planned September 28–30 nationwide bank strike. The move is intended to preserve essential customer banking services, though the UFBU has questioned the clarity of the directive.
What happened
Reserve Bank of India · RBI approved Sunday, September 27 operations for bank branches, ATM-linked branches and currency chests ahead of a planned September
Key facts
- September 27
- September 28-30
- September 26-27
- September 23
Why this matters
The strike-driven service gap creates a short-term opening for digital-banking, cash-management and payments partners to support customers if branch availability remains constrained.
What to watch
- Bank-specific Sunday branch-hour announcements and lists of participating locations.
- UFBU clarification, strike participation levels and any exemption for clearing, ATM, cash logistics or critical operations.
- ATM cash-out rates, cash-in-transit service advisories and currency chest operating updates.
- NPCI/UPI, card-network and bank digital-channel incident reports or transaction-failure spikes.
- Changes to strike dates, government conciliation outcomes or additional RBI operating directives.
- Advance cash-float planning for stores, especially cash-heavy formats and markets with limited ATM density.
- Encourage customers and franchisees to use UPI, cards and other digital payment rails; validate payment-terminal and network uptime.
- Accelerate bank deposits, cheque processing, supplier payments and payroll-related transactions before the strike window.
- Confirm operating status of primary-bank branches, ATMs, cash-in-transit providers and currency-chest-supported cash replenishment routes.
- Prepare store teams for higher cash-handling, change-demand and customer queries if ATM replenishment becomes uneven.