Shoppers and revellers can rest assured there will be no shortage of cash during the long New Year holidays although not necessary in their own pockets.
Bangkok malls are gearing up for big sales with promotion to draw as much cash from shoppers' pockets as possible. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)
The Bank of Thailand has reserved banknotes of all denominations worth 560 billion baht since the end of November, said Sarun Thamrongrat, director of the Banknote Strategic Planning Department.
It expected banknotes worth 1.49 trillion baht to be circulated at the end of 2014, up by 4.9% year-on-year, he said.
Commercial banks are projected to dispense 3.7% more banknotes this month to support overwhelming demand, he said.
Kasikornbank reserved cash worth 46.5 billion baht - 8.5 billion at branches and 38 billion for its 9,791 ATMs nationwide. Of the total ATM reserves, 17.5 billion baht is for those in Bangkok.
The bank will also waive fees for cross-zone ATM withdrawals and deposits through its cash deposit machines (CDMs) from Dec 31 to Jan 4.
At Bangkok Bank, cash reserves were raised to 60 billion baht to ensure business as usual while CIMB Thai Bank set aside 1.7 billion baht for ATMs and 800 million for branch withdrawals.
Bank of Ayudhya also allocated 13.55 billion baht for the occasion, of which 9.74 billion was for ATMs.