B

anks are making preparations for the expected increase in banking transactions in the lead-up to Idul Fitri festivities, which fall on Sept. 9 and 10.

Finance and strategy director of state lender Bank Mandiri, Pahala Mansuri, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend that the bank would keep 120 branches open during the holiday season.

He said the branches would be open to handle specific transactions, such as fuel payment transactions and its payments to state-owned oil company Pertamina.

He added that Bank Mandiri would also serve customers should any banking problems emerge.

“Our call center is open 24 hours a day and ready to serve customers,” he said via telephone, adding that the bank’s text message and Internet banking services would operate as normal.

Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) spokesman Muhamad Ardiansyah said via telephone that BRI’s call center and Internet banking services would continue to operate during the holidays.

“Should customers face any banking-related problems, they can report to the nearest branch,” he said, adding that problems would only be handled when banks resumed normal operation after the Idul Fitri break.

During the holidays, customers’ demand for cash is also expected to increase, pushing banks to beef up cash supplies and check on ATMs.

Muslims usually give more alms during Idul Fitri, which marks the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

Ardiansyah said that during Idul Fitri holidays, BRI would ensure that its ATMs would not be short of cash, saying that the bank had prepared Rp 8 trillion in cash for ATMs.

He added that for this year’s Idul Fitri period, the bank had prepared Rp 13.8 trillion in cash (including cash for ATMs), an increase of 20 percent compared to last year.

Pahala of Bank Mandiri said his bank had prepared Rp 14 trillion for customer withdrawals from branches and ATMs during the period.

News portal kontan.co.id said the bank would supply Rp 800 billion in cash per day to its 22,185-strong ATM network.

Another of the major banks in Indonesia, Bank Central Asia (BCA), has also prepared an increased cash supply to meet the expected increase in withdrawals.

BCA deputy president director Jahja Setiaatmadja said earlier that BCA had prepared Rp 10 trillion in cash for the holiday.

“We prepared it two weeks before the start of Ramadan,” Jahja said. He added that BCA had prepared Rp 8 trillion in cash for the same period last year.

Jahja said BCA normally prepared Rp 6 trillion in cash per month, but for Ramadan, it set aside an additional Rp 4 trillion due to the expected increase in demand for cash.

“People usually withdraw more money during and because of Idul Fitri,” he said.

Jahja added that ATMs were set to operate around the clock and branches had been instructed to be on standby to meet demand.

BCA has 6,275 ATMs and branches throughout Indonesia. (map/est)