Anxious Greek pensioners swarmed closed bank branches in the hope of getting their pensions, while queues formed at ATMs as the machines gradually began dispensing cash again following the imposition of strict capital controls.
Greece's five-year financial crisis took its most dramatic turn yet, with the cabinet deciding that Greek banks would remain shut for six business days ahead of a referendum in which Greeks will vote whether to accept creditors' demands for budget reforms.
One of the most onerous controls is a daily 60 euros cash withdrawal limit from ATMs. Elderly depositors,who usually get their pensions at the end of the month rushed to closed bank branches hoping they might open.
In Salonika, Greece's largest city, pensioners waiting outside closed banks on Monday fainted when it became apparent that they will not receive their pensions.
Deputy Minister of State Terence Quick said special arrangements would be made for pensions, telling private Antenna television that pensions would be dispensed in full as many pensioners don’t have bank cards and make withdrawals in person at their bank branches.
As the Financial Times reports: “many pensioners were growing frustrated over successive announcements cutting the amounts they would be allowed to withdraw. On Sunday the finance ministry said pensioners could take their full payments before capping that on Monday at €240 and then, a day later, halving it to €120.”
The sense of unease now prevalent in Greece was evident in a series of pictures emerged from photo agencies and across social media depicting pensioners lining up at bank branches and supermarkets and gas stations bled dry.