Automated Teller Machine (ATM) networks across the capital city of Dhaka are experiencing severe operational disruptions, leaving many bank customers unable to withdraw cash during the peak retail shopping period preceding Eid-ul-Azha.
Despite an explicit directive from Bangladesh Bank—the central financial regulator—instructing all commercial banking institutions to ensure uninterrupted ATM and digital banking services throughout the festive holiday, numerous booths have run completely out of cash. The closure of physical bank branches for a consecutive seven-day holiday period has significantly increased public reliance on automated banking infrastructure, causing a sharp spike in cash-out demands.
Field Assessment and Regional Impact
On-the-spot inspections conducted at several ATM booths across major commercial and residential hubs in Dhaka—including Malibagh, Rampura, Mouchak, Purana Paltan, and Moghbazar—revealed a systemic collapse in cash availability, particularly among financially weaker commercial institutions. Due to a severe liquidity crunch and insufficient emergency cash reserves, a large number of these booths have been placed completely out of service.
The primary operational status of the banking network and the specific consumer restrictions observed across the surveyed financial hubs are outlined in the table below:
| Surveyed Urban Hubs (Dhaka) | Observed Network Status | Imposed Operational Restrictions |
| Malibagh & Mouchak | Major liquidity deficits | Temporary suspension of interbank card transactions. |
| Rampura & Moghbazar | Multiple booth closures | Withdrawal caps enforced for external account holders. |
| Purana Paltan | Extended customer queues | Cash reloading frequencies increased up to four times daily. |
Systemic Contagion and Institutional Responses
To preserve their remaining paper currency reserves and serve a larger volume of their core clientele, several commercial lenders have restricted ATM access exclusively to their own cardholders. This has been achieved by blocking access to cards issued by competing financial institutions. Furthermore, even where interbank usage remains functional, banks have lowered the maximum transaction limits per withdrawal, intensifying the difficulties faced by holiday shoppers.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the head of the card division at a prominent private commercial bank detailed the scale of the ongoing crisis:
“We have experienced immense pressure regarding cash withdrawals, which has forced our logistics teams to reload physical money into the machines up to four times a day. There are certain banks currently experiencing acute liquidity crunches that did not load money into their respective ATMs, failing even to borrow necessary funds from the interbank spot market.”
The Interbank Domino Effect
This lack of preparation by undercapitalised financial institutions has triggered a domino effect across the broader banking sector. With no alternative options available, customers belonging to non-compliant banks have migrated en masse to the ATM networks of compliant, liquid institutions.
This massive influx of cross-network consumers has overwhelmed the automated systems of well-managed banks, depleting their cash reserves at an unsustainable rate and turning a localized liquidity deficit into a city-wide banking challenge during the critical vacation period.