Demonetisation of high value currency has created a temporary job: stand in queue at banks and ATM kiosks for a fee.

Shankarappa, a trader in Chintamani in Chickballapur district, said youths are willing to stand in queue for a fee of Rs. 100 per transaction. “They cannot withdraw cash or exchange money. They will call us when they are near the counter,” he explained.

Shopkeepers in Vijayapura are charging Rs. 50 as commission for every transaction in old currency, which they defend saying they have no choice as they have to employ amanevery day to stand in queue to deposit old currency in banks.

In most firms and shops, one or two employees have been assigned to exclusively handle bank transactions every day.

Naveen Kumar, who works in a departmental store in Vijaynagar in Bengaluru, said that it was a common practice even before demonetisation. “But the difference is that while I used to spend an hour in the bank every day, now I spend the whole day,” he said.