Mumbai: Co-op credit banks refuse to accept Rs 2,000 notes

Confusion prevails among 25000 cooperative credit society banks in Maharashtra regarding the acceptance of Rs 2000 notes Many of these banks have been refusing to accept the currency while some have even issued circulars flatly denying the acceptance of Rs 2000 notesDnyandeep Cooperative Credit Society Limited based in Kandivali has even issued a circular instructing its customers not to accept Rs 2000 notes and advising them to deposit the currency in national banks only When midday reporters visited various cooperative credit societies and small finance banks they found that many of them were not exchanging or depositing the currency due to a lack of informationIN PHOTOSHead to Girgaon Chowpatty for a slurpy bite of Ice GolasWhen midday asked Dnyandeep Cooperative Credit Society Limited in Kandivli West about their refusal to exchange Rs 2000 notes they stated that they had received instructions from their superiors not to accept these notes Laxman Chavan Chairman of Dnyandeep Society said ldquoWe issued a circular on May 20 based on instructions from our societyrsquos directors In the circular we also requested our members to deposit or exchange the Rs 2000 notes at their respective banks We are not accepting Rs 2000 notes for loan repayment fixed deposits or any other transactionsrdquo He also further explained that they are following the instructions of the Board of Directors Also there are no clear instructions for credit societies from RBIThe circular issued by Dnyandeep Cooperative Credit Society Limited in Kandivli informing its members that they wonrsquot accept Rs 2000 notesAt Sangli Vaibhav Coop Society in Andheri they have also stopped accepting Rs 2000 notes However if members want to make a fixed deposit the society will accept the Rs 2000 notes for a minimum duration of 13 months The lady officer stated that the RBI guidelines instructed to deposit these notes in banks only not in any credit societies When midday asked the Citizen Credit Coop Bank at Mahim if they would exchange the Rs 2000 notes a bank employee informed them that they were not exchanging the notes but members could deposit them into their accountsThe bank officer explained ldquoOnly those who have an account in our bank are allowed to deposit Rs 2000 notes into their accounts There are no limits on deposits into accountsrdquo ESAF Small Finance Bank Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank The Malad Sahkari Bank Limited and other national banks are exchanging the Rs 2000 notes with a limit of Rs 20000 per dayCitizen Credit Cooperative bankPravin Darekar a BJP leader and President of Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank Limited said ldquoAll cooperative banks and small finance banks across Maharashtra are our members Recently the RBI issued a circular for banks However there are no instructions for credit societies and small finance banks There is confusion among credit societies about whether to accept the notes or not Many credit societies are not accepting these notes due to uncertainty about whether banks will accept them or notrdquoRBI Officials SpeakWhen midday asked RBI officials if they had given any instructions to coop credit societies regarding the acceptance of Rs 2000 notes the officials responded by saying ldquoThe RBI issued a circular about Rs 2000 notes to all banks We do not issue a circular specifically for credit societiesrdquoIt is evident from the statements and actions of various cooperative credit societies and banks that there is confusion regarding the acceptance of notes While some banks have outrightly refused to accept these notes others have restricted their acceptance to certain transactions or only for their existing members The primary reason cited for not accepting these banknotes is the lack of specific instructions from the RBI for credit societiesTo address this confusion and provide clarity Pravin Darekar President of Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank Limited has called for the RBI to issue a circular specifically for credit societies outlining the guidelines for accepting or depositing Rs 2000 banknotesRs 20kDaily limit for exchange of Rs 2K notes