Banks in Ho Chi Minh City are ensuring that all ATMs will operatesmoothly during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays to meet demand forcash withdrawals.
Most ATMs in the city are often crowded with scores of workers gathering to withdraw wages and bonuses.
According to the Commercial Joint Stock Company for Foreign Trade ofVietnam (Vietcombank), withdrawal demand increases two or threefoldduring the holiday, especially in industrial parks and export processingzones.
A representative of the Ho Chi Minh City ExportProcessing Zones and Industry Parks Authority said that long queues havebeen spotted in front of ATM booths in industrial parks, as manycompanies have already paid holiday wages and bonuses.
To easecongestion seen in previous years, local banks have carried out timelyrepairs on ATMs and opened new ATMs at busy spots.
Local banks said there would be a sufficient supply of cash for their ATMs before, during and after the Tet holidays.
Vietcombank, for example, has moved several ATMs where cash withdrawaldemand is low to areas including IPs that have high demand.
VuThi Quynh Anh, Deputy Director of HDBank's Card Centre, said the bankhad foreseen increased cash withdrawals at this time of year so it hadprepared several measures to cope with it.
"In particular, thebank has increased the amount of cash in each ATM and set up a teamready to quickly address any breakdown in its network," Anh said.
Chu Hong Minh, Director of Dong A Bank's Card Centre, also revealedthat his bank had begun a general inspection of its ATMs, datatransmission networks and power resources to ensure that all its ATMswill operate well during the Tet season.
"The machines aresupplied three or four times per day with cash on the days approachingthe Tet compared with only one or two times on normal days. Meanwhile,the bank is also preparing spare cash drawers to be ready to supply toATMs," Minh said.
Dong A Bank also has a system to watch overtransaction volumes as well as technical operations at its ATM system toensure stable operations and any breakdown can be addressed quickly, headded.
Because the amount of cash in ATMs has increasedsignificantly on those days, most banks in the city have paid moreattention to ensuring security for their customers by deploying guardsat several "risky" locations and installing cameras in all booths.
They have also cooperated with the local police to intensify patrols at ATM locations.
"It is not only on Tet holidays that we keep close watch over our ATMsystem to ensure stable operations," a representative of the ABBanksaid.
According to the State Bank of Vietnam, the bankingsector's ATM system now is able to meet cash demand on normal days only,so overloading often hits those machines on festivals or holidays whenfirms and agencies pay salaries and bonuses at the same time.
Since December, the central bank has sent several documents askingcommercial banks to ensure cash supply for their ATMs, and to open newATMs at places where cash withdrawal demand is high. The bank has alsorequired local banks to work with enterprises to pay workers' salariesand bonuses at different times to reduce the pressure on the system.-VNA
Most ATMs in the city are often crowded with scores of workers gathering to withdraw wages and bonuses.
According to the Commercial Joint Stock Company for Foreign Trade ofVietnam (Vietcombank), withdrawal demand increases two or threefoldduring the holiday, especially in industrial parks and export processingzones.
A representative of the Ho Chi Minh City ExportProcessing Zones and Industry Parks Authority said that long queues havebeen spotted in front of ATM booths in industrial parks, as manycompanies have already paid holiday wages and bonuses.
To easecongestion seen in previous years, local banks have carried out timelyrepairs on ATMs and opened new ATMs at busy spots.
Local banks said there would be a sufficient supply of cash for their ATMs before, during and after the Tet holidays.
Vietcombank, for example, has moved several ATMs where cash withdrawaldemand is low to areas including IPs that have high demand.
VuThi Quynh Anh, Deputy Director of HDBank's Card Centre, said the bankhad foreseen increased cash withdrawals at this time of year so it hadprepared several measures to cope with it.
"In particular, thebank has increased the amount of cash in each ATM and set up a teamready to quickly address any breakdown in its network," Anh said.
Chu Hong Minh, Director of Dong A Bank's Card Centre, also revealedthat his bank had begun a general inspection of its ATMs, datatransmission networks and power resources to ensure that all its ATMswill operate well during the Tet season.
"The machines aresupplied three or four times per day with cash on the days approachingthe Tet compared with only one or two times on normal days. Meanwhile,the bank is also preparing spare cash drawers to be ready to supply toATMs," Minh said.
Dong A Bank also has a system to watch overtransaction volumes as well as technical operations at its ATM system toensure stable operations and any breakdown can be addressed quickly, headded.
Because the amount of cash in ATMs has increasedsignificantly on those days, most banks in the city have paid moreattention to ensuring security for their customers by deploying guardsat several "risky" locations and installing cameras in all booths.
They have also cooperated with the local police to intensify patrols at ATM locations.
"It is not only on Tet holidays that we keep close watch over our ATMsystem to ensure stable operations," a representative of the ABBanksaid.
According to the State Bank of Vietnam, the bankingsector's ATM system now is able to meet cash demand on normal days only,so overloading often hits those machines on festivals or holidays whenfirms and agencies pay salaries and bonuses at the same time.
Since December, the central bank has sent several documents askingcommercial banks to ensure cash supply for their ATMs, and to open newATMs at places where cash withdrawal demand is high. The bank has alsorequired local banks to work with enterprises to pay workers' salariesand bonuses at different times to reduce the pressure on the system.-VNA
