Coronavirus: Axis Bank urges customers to use net banking, mobile app instead of visiting branches

Private sector lender Axis Bank on Thursday urged its customers to avoid visiting branches in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and instead, use internet banking, mobile app and chatbot for banking services.

In an e-mail sent to its customers, Axis Bank MD & CEO Amitabh Chaudhry said the bank is constantly monitoring the evolving situation around the pandemic and taking "proactive steps" to safeguard all employees and customers visiting offices, branches and ATMs.

"While we are always 'Dil se Open' for you at all our branches, you may want to avoid going to a branch at this juncture. This is a great time for you to try our best-in-class digital solutions. Axis Bank has digital channels like internet banking, mobile apps and chatbot which enable our customers to reach the bank anytime and from anywhere," Chaudhry wrote.

Axis Bank mobile app offers a host of services from basic transactions to complex ones that help you stay connected even from a distance, he added.

Chaudhry said the bank branches are fully functional to cater to customer service requirements and are also sensitising its staff and providing regular advisories in line with the protocols issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and government agencies.

"We are sanitizing and fumigating our premises frequently and providing access to alcohol-based hand sanitizers across locations," he said.

Chaudhry said the bank has a "well-documented" business continuity process (BCP) to address disruptions in the ecosystem, which also includes natural disasters and pandemics.

"A senior-level team has been activated more than a month back to monitor the situation across the country and take steps towards uninterrupted services for customers and business continuity," he added.

WHO has declared coronavirus as a pandemic. Over 2 lakh people have been infected globally and the disease caused by it -- COVID-19 -- has claimed over 9,000 lives. In India, there are over 160 positive cases and 4 deaths so far.

In the e-mail, Chaudhry further said Axis Bank is in "robust health and on a strong growth path".

Axis Bank is the third-largest private sector bank in India with 4,415 domestic branches and more than 17,000 ATMs across 2,521 centres, offering the entire spectrum of banking services.

"Recently, in September 2019, (Axis Bank) successfully raised Rs 12,500 crore through the largest qualified institutional placement (QIP) of its kind, to fund business growth.

"Axis Bank is also playing its part in bringing stability to the larger ecosystem. Along with SBI and other private sector banks, we have invested Rs 600 crore in Yes Bank towards its revival plan, he added.