Many ATMs are 'frozen' again near Tet
Due to the huge increase in demand compared to normal days, many ATMs in Hanoi have started to experience problems or run out of money in recent days.
On the afternoon of February 10, Mr. Tu (Cau Giay, Hanoi) went to an ATM of a bank on Duy Tan Street (Cau Giay, Hanoi) and found that all three ATMs were out of service. "Two ATMs reported errors, and the Livebank service has also been temporarily suspended since the night before," he said. Calling the bank's hotline, Mr. Tu was told that the outage was only temporary due to the large number of people withdrawing money. "After about 15 minutes, the technician fixed the problem and transactions resumed as normal," he said.
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ATMs of many banks are continuously reporting temporary shutdowns due to overload of cash withdrawals on days close to Tet.Photo: AT |
But not everyone is patient enough to wait and withdraw money like Mr. Tu. Running along Quang Trung Street (Ha Dong, Hanoi), Ms. Thu still could not withdraw the full 10 million VND from her personal account. “There was a bank ATM that I could withdraw money from once, but the machine said it was out of money and stopped the transaction. When I drove a little further to another bank ATM, the machine also posted a notice of temporary suspension of transactions. When I entered Van Quan urban area, the ATMs of large and small banks here were all in a state of long queues of people waiting. “I couldn’t be patient anymore, so I had to go back and wait until the next day to withdraw money,” Ms. Thu said sadly.
As noted byVnExpressOn February 11, ATMs in Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay, and Ha Dong districts (Hanoi) were crowded with people withdrawing money, especially at machines located in supermarkets and shopping centers. At Metro Ha Dong supermarket, there are 5 ATMs of banks, but they are always in a state of "people waiting in line to withdraw money".
Ms. Nga, a shopper here, said she took the opportunity to withdraw money to buy Tet gifts to send home, but waited for 30 minutes and could not withdraw. "I intended to withdraw cash to both buy things and spend during Tet, but I waited too long and it was not my turn even though there are 5 ATMs here," Ms. Nga said.
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On the morning of February 11, many people lined up to withdraw money in front of ATMs on the occasion of Lunar New Year 2018.Photo: HT |
But the most miserable are probably the workers in industrial parks because ATMs constantly run out of money, are overloaded, and stop working.. Mr. Manh, a worker at the Bac Thang Long Industrial Park (Hanoi) said that yesterday afternoon he had to wait in line for nearly two hours to withdraw his salary and Tet bonus that the company had just transferred into his account so that he could have money to return home early the next morning.
"Banks always promise that ATMs will not malfunction during holidays and Tet, but we still suffer every time we withdraw money," Mr. Manh complained.
Within more than a week before Tet, the State Bank twice issued documents requesting credit institutionsensure service quality, operational safety and sufficient ATM cash supply during Tet. This agency requires banks to proactively prepare human resources and cash to fully and promptly replenish funds for ATMs, and not let ATMs stop working.
In addition to banks, the State Bank also directed credit institutions providing switching infrastructure to inspect technical infrastructure systems, machinery and equipment to ensure smooth transactions during Tet.
