JEDDAH, 16 November 2004 — People in the Kingdom have withdrawn more than SR6 billion from banks through their 3,300 ATMs located across the country during the first two days of Eid Al-Fitr, press reports said.
“Thousands of citizens queued in front of ATMs soon after hearing the news about the sighting of Shawwal crescent on Friday,” Al-Madinah Arabic daily said. The large turnout crippled the network for sometime, it added.
The Kingdom’s 10 commercial banks had made advance preparations for the Eid festival, depositing adequate amount of money in their ATMs. One bank mobilized its ATM staff to supply more than SR1.4 billion on Friday.
Saudi banking sources earlier predicted that ATM withdrawals during Eid Al-Fitr holidays would cross 10 million worth more than SR5 billion. Bank branches at airports and other entry points were also expected to face big demand for cash.
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency has installed advanced systems to avoid problems to withdraw money during the peak seasons such as Ramadan and Eid.
All banks have set up crisis management departments, which work round the clock, to counter problems during seasons, make sure that ATMs are working properly and follow up emergency situations. Saudis as well as the Kingdom’s eight million expatriates spend the largest amount of money on Eid holidays to purchase dress, perfumes, gifts, sweets, food and rice for Fitr Zakah.
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Khateeb, an economic consultant, has estimated the total spending during Eid at about SR20 billion to SR23 billion. “There are more than 20 million people in the Kingdom who spend an average of SR1,000 each,” he pointed out.
Saudi Arabia has 10 commercial banks with assets exceeding SR590 billion, in addition to a branch of the Bahrain-based Gulf International Bank (GIB). Saudi banks have issued more than seven million ATM cards.
Balance sheets of the ten banks improved substantially during the first three quarters of this year, with total assets expanding by 12.9 percent to SR593 billion by the end of September 2004 compared to SR526 billion during the same period last year.
