Finance Minister P.C has recently averred that access to
bank is a fundamental right and the citizenry is even counselled to demand for
one if it is denied. A bank account is being viewed as the means through which
administrative machinery could be made more accountable and its process more transparent.
It would entail arresting the pilferage of governmental benefits and also the
successive Five Year Plans ideal of inclusive
growth. What followed of course is the steep increase in the no. of bank accounts
either active or otherwise though over 60% of Indians still lack access
to mainstream financial institutions.
At the outset let me discuss (not comprehensively however) the
experience of an average Indian in accessing this right. Do we have the
prejudice that a bank employee, at the counter particularly, is un-affable and
un-humane, who doesn’t heed to our queries, who directs to another counter for
any additional information sought, who wouldn’t help in filling the documents,
who would break the rule for the powerful and would show extra attention in
adhering to it for us? If you don’t, then you are not the average Indian I am
talking about and you would well be privileged.
My mom used to say that it takes a complete day if she
wishes to pledge a gold ornament in public sector banks whereas private money
lenders would make it done within 5 minutes. An average Indian who is just
functionally literate is not financially literate and would need assistance to
access the mainstream financial institutions. When the personnel through whom
he views the institution are unfriendly, he is vulnerable to return back to the
parallel economy perpetuated by many of the unscrupulous money lenders.
Let us be informed that SAVING for future is a socially
ingrained family value in our nation and estrangement of the general community
from mainstream financial institutions would entail the whole economy to lose
the opportunity to mobilize their savings. No wonder that SAHARA group was able
to mobilize over 15,000 crore of INR mainly from the unbanked classes of the
society. However this constructive social value is deteriorating at a larger
pace among the CREDIT CARDISED class of people.
With the hitherto mentioned proclivity towards banking
system,I had a conversation with my friend who works in a private bank in
Ramanathapuram, recently. I was complaining about the attitude of the majority
bank employees and was moved to hear from him and wish to record his
perspective.
To a reader from Chennai, Ramanathapuram may be nothing but
‘south side’ which is synonymous for ARRIVAAL, AELAY slang and other
prejudices. I remember my Warden and Maths Professor riposting
SOUTHனா என்ன யாழ்ப்பாணமா ? to us when we claimed we belong to south.
Geographically the terrain is cursed and is a typical THANNI
ILLAATHA KAADU in Tamilnadu. Any service provider posted in this region would
view it as a ‘punishment’ post let alone my friend who hails from the
prosperous delta region. The inextricable link among geographical features,
economic development and social development leaves the region a backward one. Hence
without enough local employment opportunities, majority of the households in
Ramanathapuram would have at least an individual of theirs emigrate and strive
in the West and South East Asia. What follows is the surpassing remittance
amount and hence the greater demand for banking services.
Here are his travails.
Since majority of the people hail from weaker sections of
society they are not even functionally literate forget about the financial
literacy. Many a people don’t even know to count the money and would claim
extra amount from the bank hence. My friend seems to have lost cool when a
customer claimed 5 bunch of 100 rupee notes amount to 5 lakh rupees.
The
customer was alleged to have said
"விவரம் தெரியாம பேசாதீங்க தம்பி.உங்களுக்குலாம் எவன் தான் வேலை தந்தானோ ? "
Clients, sometime place a lower denomination note in the 100
note bunches either unscrupulously or inadvertently and the counting machine
would report “Boss, 100 notes intact”. Blank papers are also placed in such
bunches he alleged.
He claimed that he would lose concentration while he is
counting money and someone queries him. This would lead him to commit mistake
and ultimately monetary lose to him. Every day after the business hours, the
employees engage in tallying up the amount and if there is any negative
difference they have to pay it from their pocket. But any positive differences GOYYAALA
would have to be transferred to the bank’s account.
He said that he had the experience of chasing a person and
extracting from him the actual amount for the fake notes he placed in his
deposit. The total lose for him in his
banking carrier is around 2000 Rs which may not be a big figure to many albeit.
If so I would say again that you are privileged.
He said hence he made his mind to remain cursed by the
customers for not replying to their queries instead of losing his salary. Thus
he is one of the SIDU MOONJI SATHASIVAM according to his customers.
It seems that his colleague had mistakenly delivered 5 lakh
rupees instead of 1 lakh rupee to a customer who had demanded for changing his
lower denomination money. Since customers demanding ‘denomination exchange
services’ do not fill forms, they don’t have the records of transaction.
Unfortunately there was a snag in the CCTV functionality then and the customer
couldn’t be traced. So his colleague is paying a loan for the differential 4
lakh rupees, a figure which is his monetised 2 year hard labour.
He also declared that Mondays are the actual monsters for
bank employees as the bank-less monetary transactions in the previous two days
have to be accounted in the economic system only on Monday. Added to this is
the junior-senior politics as in any organisation and the associated attempts
to thrust juniors with loads of work by the seniors.
So what else? other than changing my attitude towards bank
employees.
.JPG)