KOCHI:
ICICI Bank recently organised 101 coin exchange melas at its select branches in Kerala. These were held under the aegis of the Reserve Bank of India. The purpose of the melas were to provide coins and fresh currency notes to general public in exchange of soiled and mutilated ones.
This initiative is in line with RBI’s Clean Note Policy. The Bank organised coin exchange mela at its branches in Ernakulam,Thrissur, Alappuzha, Kozhikode, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kasaragod, Kannur, Malappuram, Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram. This initiative is part of a nationwide campaign, “Power of One”, under which multiple branches of the Bank across the country organised the coin exchange melas on the same day. With an aim to rebuild the financials of the general public after the recent floods, the coin exchange melas also facilitated customers to exchange currency notes which were affected by flood waters.
Kamal Patnaik, General Manager and Vinod Kumar, Asst. General Manager, Issue Department, Reserve Bank of India inaugurated the event at the Bank’s M G Road branch in Ernakulam. The coin exchange melas at Thiruvananthapuram were inaugurated by Gowthaman, Asst. General Manager, Issue Department, Reserve Bank of India.
The melas witnessed participation of over 1,250 customers, wherein they exchanged over Rs. 16.35 lakh worth of coins in the denomination of Rs.10, Rs. 5, Rs. 2 and Rs. 1 along with fresh currency of Rs.10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50, Rs.100 and Rs. 200. People from all walks of life, including traders, retailers, retired individuals participated in these melas to obtain smaller denomination of currency and coins which would help them undertake small ticket transactions in a convenient manner.
ICICI Bank organised 2,536 coin exchange melas across the country on the same day. The coin melas received a good response with close to 36,000 people participating in it and exchanging coins and fresh currency worth Rs. 40 crore. ICICI Bank periodically organises coin exchange melas to offer a free facility of exchanging acceptable soiled and mutilated currency notes with coins and fresh currency notes to the general public. These events are much-awaited and receive an overwhelming response from people from all walks of life. Anyone can avail this facility of exchanging coins and currency free of cost.
ICICI Bank services its large customer base through a multi-channel delivery network of 4,867 branches, 14,394 ATMs, phone banking, internet banking (www.icicibank.com), mobile banking, banking on Facebook & Twitter and ‘PocketsbyICICIBank’ the country’s first digital bank on mobile (as at June 30, 2018). It has 174 branches and 329 ATMs in Kerala, creating a large retail network.
