Several private banks, as well as some government lenders, require their customers to show photo ID if they want to exchange ₹2,000 bills but don’t have an account with the bank.
An ICICI Bank official based in Gurugram told Fortune India that non-bank customers must provide proof of identity to exchange ₹2000 bills.
HDFC Bank also asked non-bank customers to show ID like Aadhaar to exchange £2000 notes, sources told Fortune India.
State-owned lender Bank of Baroda also required non-customers to show proof of identification to exchange ₹2,000 notes.
However, India’s largest public lender, the State Bank of India, said on Sunday that no proof of identity would be required when exchanging ₹2000 notes. Another PSU lender, Punjab National Bank, also advised its branches that no Aadhaar card or other officially verified documents (OVD) are required to exchange ₹2000 notes.
According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), banknotes in denominations ranging from ₹2,000 up to a maximum of ₹20,000 can be exchanged for other denominations at any bank at one time.
On Monday, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said banks should follow existing guidelines for exchanging and depositing £2000 notes. “No additional guidelines have been given to banks when it comes to ₹2,000 denomination notes,” the RBI governor said. “For example, if someone deposits more than ₹50,000 into the bank, they must provide the PAN card details. So the existing banking rules remain in place.”
The RBI has instructed banks to keep data on deposits and exchanges of £2000 notes on a daily basis and to send the details when necessary.
In a May 19 note, the central bank said the ability to exchange £2000 notes over the counter would be available to the public in the usual way, without restrictions and subject to compliance with existing know-your-customer (KYC) norms other applicable legal requirements should be made.
“Banks are also required to comply with cash transaction reporting (CTR) and suspicious transaction reporting (STR) requirements, where applicable,” the statement said.
The Banking Regulator stated that ₹2,000 notes arriving at the banks must be immediately sorted by banknote sorting machines (NSM) for accuracy and authenticity and deposited in the cash boxes or held ready for dispatch to the nearest RBI issuing office.
The ability to exchange ₹2,000 banknotes is also offered at RBI’s 19 regional offices.
The central bank has asked the public to use the time until September 30, 2023 to deposit or exchange the ₹2000 bills.
The £2000 notes were introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the economy’s currency needs quickly after all £500 and £1000 notes in circulation at the time had been demonetised. RBI stopped printing ₹2,000 denomination banknotes in 2018–19.
