As early as now, the public is encouraged to already start withdrawing and do their banking transactions to avoid hassles during the holiday rush.
The Cebu Bankers Club (CBC) is reminding the banking public that most banks will not be available for several days due to the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays.
“My advice to clients is to do their transactions on the 28th or 29th to avoid inconveniences from ATM machines that may run out of cash because of heavy volume of withdrawal transactions,” said CBC President Fritz Palileo.
Based on their schedule, bank branches are open this week until Friday, December 21.
Banks will then take a four-day break from December 22 to 25 for the weekend and the Christmas holiday.
By December 26, banks will resume offices until December 28, Friday.
They will then be closed again from December 29 until January 1.
Office days for banks will then resume by January 2.
According to Palileo, this is a uniform schedule for most banks in Cebu.
“However, banks have the option to open on holidays if they will seek approval from the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas). So some banks will opt to open on the 30th or maybe even on the 31st,” he said.
He added that there would also be some branches that open on weekends, especially those that were located inside malls.
Based on historical data, the heavy volume of banking transactions and withdrawals usually fall on December 21 and 22, and from 27 to 29 for bank branches.
For ATM machines, transactions are mostly done on December 22 to 25, and from December 28 to 31.
Palileo advised the public to avoid these days when doing their transactions.
“Be on the lookout also when transacting with ATMs because there are many robbers during the holiday season,” he warned.
Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, deputy mayor for police matters, also reiterated the CBC’s call for vigilance during the holiday season.
Aside from possible robbers and other lawless elements, he said the banking public should also be wary of the ATM machines itself and watch out for possible skimming devices that might have been installed by criminals.
“The public should be more vigilant, not just on robbers but on the ATM itself. Avoid withdrawing from ATMs in secluded places, without security guards and security features like CCTV cameras,” Tumulak suggested.
While the city’s police force had been given orders to conduct random patrols already, Tumulak said this would not guarantee that there would be no more criminals taking advantage of the public.
Like Palileo, Tumulak also advised the banking public to withdraw earlier to avoid the hassles brought about by the holiday rush.