The daily limit on cash withdrawals from ATMs may soon be reduced from 60 to 20 euros, as banks are struggling to keep up with the demand and reserves dry out. Many ATMs ran out of 20-euro bills on Monday though, meaning that people could only withdraw 50 euros. Banking sources claims that the ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) has initially proposed a 20-euro cap on daily transactions, but at the pressure of Greek banks, a 60-euro cap was eventually set.
Pensioners, who were initially told that they would be able to withdraw 240 euros per week were told that they would only be able to take 120 euros out, following a late-night discussion at the Ministry of Finances with bank representatives.
For this purpose, 870 bank branches will open for pensioners: 250 for Piraeus Bank, 250 for the National bank, 200 for Alpha Bank, 150 for Eurobank and 20 for Attica Bank. Pensioners will queue up outside the banks and will be allowed in one-by-one to carry out their transactions. Police escorts will be on site for security purposes.
The Ministry of Finances has issued a statement disputing the rumor, noting that the cash withdrawal limit will not be reduced from 60 to 20 euros.
