Bank Strike Sept–Oct 2025: Is Your EMI Safe?

Bank unions have called three rounds of strikes in September and October over a five-day workweek demand and changes to the Performance Linked Incentive scheme. Branches may stay shut, so plan your cash withdrawals, EMI payments, and cheque clearances well in advance.

Here's what happened: Bank unions under a major joint forum have announced three tranches of strike action in September and October 2025, targeting both PSU and some private sector banks.. The core demands are government approval for a five-day working week for bank employees and modification of the Performance Linked Incentive scheme they consider unfair.. Branch services including cash counters, cheque clearing, locker access, and loan disbursements may be disrupted on strike days, while ATMs and NACH-based auto-debits typically continue..

What you should do: Check whether your EMI is via NACH auto-debit (usually safe on holidays) or cheque/manual transfer — if it's the latter, transfer funds a day early before each strike date.. Withdraw 3–5 days of household cash before September 11 and again before September 28 to avoid ATM queues or shortfalls during the strike window.. If you have a cheque payment, loan disbursement, or FD renewal due around strike dates, visit your branch at least two working days earlier to complete the transaction..

NACH auto-debits are processed by the NPCI clearing system, not individual bank branches — so SIP and EMI auto-debits almost always go through even on declared bank strike days.

For borrowers watching their score, our CIBIL score guide covers what impacts it and how to improve it.