Speaking to Al-Madinah newspaper, a number of citizens in Qunfudah and Jeddah said that the banks were not giving any satisfactory reason for depriving them of their right to get an account opened at a bank of their choice. These complaints come at a time when most of the local bank branches in various regions of the Kingdom are struggling to cope with the heavy rush of unemployed young Saudi men and women to open an account.

Having a bank account is a prerequisite to get benefits of the Hafiz Program, which provides financial assistance to unemployed Saudis until they are provided with a job. They also coincide with the rush of girl and boy students who have been enrolled in university courses to open a bank account. On the other hand, bank officials have clarified that they are not in a position to tackle the heavy rush of applicants, mainly because of the lack of staff.

Saudi resident Ali Al-Darhami said citizens in Qunfudah found it very difficult to open a bank account. “There are only two banks in the region with each having two branches. None of them has a section for women,” he said. “Anyhow, I am lucky to get an appointment from a bank branch in Qunfudah to open an account after one month,” Al-Darhami said in a lighter vein.

Muhammad Al-Salehi voiced outrage over the hardship being faced to open a bank account. “I went to all the bank branches in Qunfudah to open an account for my sister but unfortunately none of the bank officials entertained me or gave me a date to come and open an account,” he said, adding that the local banks were still giving excuses for not opening the account.

On his part, Ahmad Al-Zubaidi, another citizen, expressed surprise over the inability of the local banks to open accounts for the growing number of citizens even after introducing electronic facilities.

“Almost all banks have an access to high-tech facilities and are extending various kinds of e-services, but they are not in a position to complete the procedures for opening current accounts,” he said while calling for opening more branches in Qunfudah. The existing banks in Qunfudah can meet the requirements of about 30 percent of people living in the region and its surrounding areas, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, almost all bank branches in Jeddah have also witnessed an unprecedented number of citizens arriving to open current accounts. Abdullah Al-Maliki, a university student, is one among them. “When I went to a local bank branch to open an account, I  encountered a heavy rush of people. When I asked a bank employee the reason for the rush, he replied that all these people were either jobless young Saudi men and women who wanted to register under the Hafiz Program or university students,” Abdullah said.

Reacting to the complaints, Muhammad Al-Marhabi, official at a famous bank in Jeddah, told the newspaper that there was a dearth of bank employees to deal with the heavy rush. “Almost all the local banks are eager to have new customers and want to extend them the best possible services,” he added.