Yes Bank customers can make Rs 2 lakh payments for loans via other banks

Yes Bank on Wednesday said its inward real-time gross settlement (RTGS) services have been enabled to allow customers to make payments towards their credit card dues and loan obligations from other bank accounts.

The announcement comes a day after its customers were allowed inward IMPS and NEFT services for the same purposes.

RTGS is used for payments of over Rs 2 lakh, while payments below this amount can be made using NEFT. Besides, loan and credit cards repayments to the bank can also be done through IMPS from other bank accounts.

"Inward RTGS services have been enabled. You can make payments towards YES BANK Credit Card dues and loan obligations from other bank accounts," the bank said in a tweet on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, in 'moratorium-related FAQs' posted on its website, crisis-hit Yes Bank has said services such as online remittances, clearing of cheques and demand drafts as well as outward payment of EMIs will continue to remain under restriction during the moratorium period.

However, if an employer has a current account with Yes Bank and wants to pay salaries to employees, there will not be any problem in doing so.

As per the FAQs, Yes Bank said outward online remittances, including RTGS and NEFT, are still suspended. "All clearing activities are suspended as of now."

"Your EMIs (equated monthly instalments) will be honoured up to the prescribed limit, subject to reinstatement of clearing activities," it said.

On March 5, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in consultation with the government put a moratorium on Yes Bank till April 3, citing serious financial mismanagement at the private sector lender. During the period, customers are not allowed to withdraw more than Rs 50,000.

The bank on Tuesday allowed inward IMPS and NEFT services to enable its customers to make payments towards Yes Bank credit card EMIs and loans through other bank accounts. The move came after its customers complained that they were not able to make payments towards their Yes Bank credit and loan repayments and were anxious about being levied a penalty for no fault of theirs.

Besides, within the limit of Rs 50,000, the Mumbai-headquartered lender has also allowed its customers to withdraw money from its own as well as other bank ATMs.

In the FAQs, on a query as to what will happen if someone has written and issued cheques to clients, Yes Bank responded, "All clearing activities are suspended as of now as per the directive. Your cheques already issued will not be honoured till the clearing activities are restarted or further directive from regulator."

On another query as to what will happen if someone has already dropped a cheque at Yes Bank counter, it said that as all the clearing activities are suspended, "Yes Bank DD/cheques will not be presented in clearing till further instructions or till reinstatement of clearing activities."

However, on a query what if an employer holds a current account with Yes Bank and needs to make withdrawal of more than Rs 50,000 to pay salaries to employees, the lender said it can be done.

"Yes Bank current account can be debited for more than Rs 50,000 towards disbursement of salaries in the accounts maintained with Yes Bank only," it clarified.

Further, it also said transfer from one Yes Bank account to another will be allowed without any restriction.

"However, customers can withdraw in a sum up to an aggregate of Rs 50,000 from all these accounts in the moratorium period till April 3, 2020," it added.

If one wishes to liquidate a standalone fixed deposit in Yes Bank, it said the branches can liquidate standalone fixed deposits (FDs) amounting less than Rs 20,000 along with interest and pay in cash as per process.

"For FDs equal to or above Rs 20,000 (along with interest) but less Rs 50,000 (along with interest), branches can issue demand draft (DD) to customers, however that DD can be presented for clearing only once the clearing services are re-instated," it said.

Since the bank was placed under the moratorium on March 5, a sense of panic gripped among customers across the country, who were seen queuing up at bank branches and ATMs to withdraw money.

Yes Bank said its ATMs are functional and customers can withdraw money from there.

Services such as digital payments supported by Yes Bank also faced outages in the initial stages, which now have been restored. Among others, prepaid meal and forex cards services are also affected due to the sudden oversight on the private sector lender.

During the moratorium period, Yes Bank will not be able to grant or renew any loan or advance, make any investment, incur any liability or agree to disburse any payment.

The RBI has initiated a draft reconstruction scheme for the private sector lender according to which State Bank of India will pick up 49 per cent stake in the crisis-ridden Yes Bank under a government-approved bailout plan by infusing capital of Rs 2,450 crore.

On Monday, Yes Bank's RBI-appointed administrator Prashant Kumar hoped that the moratorium on the bank would be lifted by this weekend.