NEW DELHI : To improve convenience and ease of banking for customers, the timings of all public sector banks have been changed in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra from today. The new rules define banking hours based on whether the branch is located in a residential or commercial area. The timings in one particular area will be uniform all over the state.
For example, whether you are visiting a PSU bank branch in Mumbai's residential area or in Pune's residential area, the operating hours of all such banks will be the same.
So far, bank timings varied from one bank to another and from one branch to another. Most banks followed a 10 am to 5 pm work hour schedule and were open for the public till 3:30 pm.
New bank timings:
In residential areas, the new banking hours are from 9 am to 4 pm while for customers the banking hours are from 9 am to 3 pm.
In commercial areas, banking hours are from 11 am to 6 pm but for customers the banks will close an hour early at 5 pm.
In all other areas, banks will now function from 10 am to 5 pm. For customers, these banks will shut doors at 4 pm.
These timings are applicable to all public sector banks like the State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Corporation Bank, etc.
Why the change in bank timings:
The bank timing change process is part of reforms in PSBs under finance ministry's Enhanced Access and Service Excellence Programme (EASE) 2.0.
The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) had approved three time slots for customer banking hours for PSBs all over India. The timings were - 9 am to 3 pm, 10 am to 4 pm and 11 am to 5 pm.
In each state, the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBCs) were asked to come with recommendations of uniform time slots after consultation with the leadership of different banks. While some states implemented it earlier, Maharashtra SLBC had recommended the implementation of uniform banking hours with effect from November 1.
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