Rs 2,000 trade: Disarray over limit, ID evidence and structure convolute cycle

After the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) pulled the Rs 2,000 notes from circulation last week, the process to exchange and deposit them got off to a rocky start on Tuesday.

There was a lot of confusion about the process on the first day of the nationwide Rs 2,000 note exchange/deposit drive because the majority of banks set up different rules, leaving people confused.

Confusion over the note exchange process 

Although the RBI did not specify any forms or ID requirements for exchanging Rs 2,000 notes up to Rs 20,000 at a time, some banks deviated from the guidelines and demanded identity verifications such as PAN and Aadhaar and required individuals to fill out requisition forms.

The central bank did not specifically mention that non-account holders must submit identification and fill out requisition forms in order to exchange notes. The RBI said, "A non-account holder likewise can trade Rs 2,000 banknotes up to a furthest reaches of Rs 20,000/ - at a time at any bank office."

The State Bank of India was quick to emerge with an assertion after the RBI's choice that no structure or slip would be expected while trading or saving Rs 2,000 notes. The RBI's guidelines were thought to be in line with this, but the majority of major banks have different exchange procedures.

Kotak Mahindra Bank has confirmed that it will require proof of identity and completion of a requisition form from non-account holders.

To accept Rs 2,000 notes, ICICI Bank has also requested identification from non-bank customers.

India Today was informed by a representative of ICICI Bank at the Connaught Place Branch in New Delhi that customers of the bank do not need to provide any details or ID proofs in order to exchange notes. However, the representative also stated that non-ICICI customers will need to provide ID proofs in addition to the form for note exchange because the bank will be required to submit transaction details to the RBI.

Non-bank customers have also been asked to fill out requisition forms for exchanging Rs 2,000 notes by UCO Bank, Bank of Baroda, PNB, and a few others.

Earlier, a PNB official told the news agency ANI that no ID would be needed to exchange the notes. However, some of its branches seem to have put up posters saying that ID is required.

Other financial institutions, on the other hand, such as Axis Bank, Bank of India, Yes Bank, and Standard Chartered, are reportedly not requesting identification from individuals who visit their respective branches to exchange notes.

In the mean time, HDFC has requested that every one of its clients finish up order structures, while non-account holders were approached to submit ID evidence.

The exchange limit also caused confusion among individuals. The RBI had expressed trade of Rs 2,000 notes up to Rs 20,000 would be allowed at a time, without specifying whether this is an everyday cutoff or a one-time limit.

A correspondence from HDFC Bank proposes that Rs 20,000 (ten Rs 2,000 notes) is the everyday trade limit. According to this communication, the RBI's limit of Rs 20,000 appears to be a daily exchange limit.

Why are banks issuing inconsistent guidelines? 

The RBI had anticipated that the process of exchanging notes would be significantly more complicated due to the inconsistent guidelines that exist between various banks and even branches of those banks.

It is important to note that the issue was unique to exchanging notes because the deposit procedure is pretty much the same for all of the country's banks.

On Twitter, a lot of people showed pictures of requisition forms and asked the RBI why banks were asking for them when it was previously said that no ID would be needed to exchange or deposit notes.

Be that as it may, the RBI really referenced nothing explicitly on the necessity of ID evidence or structures as to trading notes. Instead, it asked the banks to stick to the rules already in place and let them choose their own strategies.

In point of fact, Governor of the RBI Shaktikanta Das also clarified yesterday that banks can follow their own rules and that the central bank has not issued any specific guidelines. He did not, however, specify whether the RBI had requested requisition slips or documents from banks.

Consequently, clients who are going to banks to get Rs 2,000 notes traded ought to in a perfect world convey their ID verification in the event that it is required. They should also be prepared to fill out a requisition form because the process seems to vary between banks and even between their branches.