For 5 days, people have lined up in front of banks and ATMs to exchange or deposit old notes. (AFP)
India's largest bank, State Bank of India, had collected Rs 75,945 crore till 5 pm Sunday, as crores of people across the country clamoured for new rupee bills five days after a shock abolishment of large denomination notes.
With the state-run lender accounting for about 20 per cent of the country's banking services, the figure across all banks could be as high as five times.
Customers have exchanged Rs 3,753 crore in 500 and 1,000-rupee notes and withdrawn Rs 7,705 crore since November 10, the bank said.
The move to demonetise the large notes, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday evening, is designed to bring crores of rupees worth of cash in unaccounted wealth into the mainstream economy.
New 500 rupee notes were introduced today. (PTI)
It also hopes to dent the finances of terrorists who target India and are suspected of using fake 500 rupee notes to fund operations.
But the banned notes made up more than 80 per cent of the currency in circulation, leaving crores of people without cash and threatening to bring much of the cash-driven economy to a halt.
The Reserve Bank of India on Sunday said small denomination currency notes were available with both the central bank and with other lenders.
People "need not be anxious" and should not hoard bank notes because "cash is available when they need it", the RBI said in a statement.
It also asked banks to provide details of cash withdrawn and exchanged daily, in contrast to fortnightly, to provide a better idea on circulation.
The measures came as people complained of lack of access to their accounts despite hours of waiting at banks as well as over the non-functioning of tens of thousands of ATMs not yet reconfigured for the new series of smaller-sized 2000 rupee bills.