Banks confident of enough money for long holiday
Banks confident of enough money for long holiday
Most of the banks in Laos are confident they have enough money to meet the heavy demand for it during the Pi Mai Lao (Lao New Year) celebrations next week.
Most of the banks said yesterday they believed there would be no need for ‘No money available from this ATM' messages. However they have not revealed how much extra money has been prepared to cover the holiday period and ensure the continuation of their services.
Some banks will have a long holiday in accordance with the government's announcement while a few others will continue business as usual.
Banque pour le Commerce Exterieur Lao Public (BCEL) Managing Director, Mr Phoukhong Chanthachack, said the bank will be closed from April 14 to 17, however the exchange units remain open as an extra service for both local people and visitors.
BCEL will have teams on standby at the headquarters in Vientiane and branch offices in the provinces to restock the ATMs when they run out of money or effect immediate repairs if something else goes wrong.
“Money transfers via electronic media remain open,” Phoukhong said.
Director of the Joint Development Bank (JDB), Mr Sounthorn Chanthavong, said JDB will also operate in a similar way as other banks. It has teams to replenish money in the ATMs and mechanics to fix the machines.
Currently the JDB has more than 120 ATMs nationwide, 76 of which are now in operation while the remainder are still being installed.
“However our 25 service units will be closed as per the announcement of the government,” Sounthorn said.
Phongsavanh Bank Managing Director, Ms Sengdao Bouphakonekham, said that because Pi Mai Lao is a longer holiday this year, the bank will undergo lots of preparation to ensure having fast service and enough cash for customers to withdraw from their ATMs next week.
“Our service units, in both Vientiane and the provinces, will not be closed as an extra service to customers. This means the customers can withdraw big money during the happy holiday,” Sengdao said.
ACLEDA Bank Lao Ltd Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Narin Phon said his bank will open for service until April 13, so anyone who wants to withdraw money should do so before the holiday starts because the service units will be closed after then.
“However our ATMs will certainly have enough money during the holiday,” Narin said and added that the bank cannot reveal how much extra money will be kept in the ATMs for security reasons. The same as with other banks.
Most of the banks will resume normal services on April 20.
The government's announcement that it will add Friday April 17 to the three-day Pi Mai Lao holiday gives state officials the longest ever Lao New Year break of six days.
As usual Pi Mai Lao will be celebrated from April 14-16 across the nation but the extra day's holiday on April 17 turns it into a six-day event running from Tuesday April 14 to Sunday April 19, according to an announcement issued by the Government Office on Thursday.
However, the government also announced that Saturday April 11 will be an official working day in compensation for the holiday on Friday.
