In a relief for people amid the proposed three-day countrywide strike by bank staff from September 28 to 30, the State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday said it has made all ATM transactions free of charge for the strike period.
The SBI said it has taken the step to ensure customer convenience, preventing any disruption to transactions during the strike period.
In a post on the social media platform X, the SBI stated that its services would remain available for customers’ banking needs even during the proposed strike.
The post highlighted SBI’s commitment to facilitating banking services. Consequently, ATM charges will be waived from September 28 to 30, 2026 and customers will not be charged for transactions made at any bank’s ATM.
The bank further announced that to facilitate customer convenience amid the strike, all branches will remain open on Sunday as well. Additionally, online payment facilities such as UPI, IMPS, RTGS, and NEFT will continue to operate as usual during the strike period.
In order to minimise disruption to the genuine banking needs of the public, the Government has directed public sector banks to stay open on Sunday.
The Reserve Bank of India has granted approval for all bank branches, offices, ATM-link branches, and Currency Chests to remain fully operational on Sunday (September 27).
All public sector banks and Regional Rural Banks will function normally on Sunday, the Finance Ministry said.
“In view of the proposed three-day nationwide bank strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) from September 28 to 30, coinciding with the preceding weekend holidays of September 26 and 27, the government has taken proactive steps to safeguard the banking needs of citizens,” a Finance Ministry statement said.
This has helped to reduce the disruption in economic activity due to the timing of the strike, which otherwise would have stretched across five days since Saturday and Sunday were both bank holidays.
The Finance Ministry said that the welfare and convenience of bank customers remain the government’s foremost priority. The government and bank managements have appealed to unions to defer the proposed strike and have also taken measures to ensure that essential banking services continue uninterrupted, the statement added.
