Banks across India will remain closed for 14 days in September 2026, including 6 weekend holidays and 8 additional state-specific closures. According to the Reserve Bank of India's latest holiday calendar, the updated schedule includes major festivals, weekend holidays, and regional observances across India. The holiday schedule represents a significant disruption to banking operations, with customers advised to check their specific branch's holiday list before planning visits to avoid last-minute inconvenience. As per the RBI's comprehensive calendar, banks will remain closed on 14 days in September, including weekends and state-specific holidays, with the month beginning with a major holiday on September 4 for Janmashtami, when branches will be closed in majority of states including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir. The full list of bank holidays in September 2026 includes Janmashtami on September 4 applicable in cities like Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Dehradun, Gangtok, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna, Raipur, Shillong and Shimla.
The updated holiday schedule includes weekend closures on September 6, 12, 13, 20, 26, and 27, providing consistent relief from the extended holiday period. September 11 will see banks in Jaipur closed on account of elections in the jurisdiction of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation. September 12 will see banks in Guwahati closed on the occasion of Tirubhav Tithi of Srimanta Sankardeva. September 14 will see banks throughout India closed for the second Saturday weekend off and on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, including Belapur, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Panaji and Vijayawada. September 15 will see banks closed in Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar and Panaji for Samvatsari (Chaturthi Paksha)/Nuakhai/Ganesh Chaturthi (2nd Day). The RBI's calendar includes additional regional observances such as Karma Puja on September 22 in Ranchi, Maharaja Hari Singh Ji's birthday in Jammu and Srinagar on September 23, and Indrajatra in Gangtok on September 25. Janmashtami falls on September 4 and closes branches across major cities including Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Dehradun, Gangtok, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi, Shillong, Shimla, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram, and Vijayawada.
Despite branch closures, essential banking services remain operational throughout September. According to the RBI's guidelines, UPI payments, mobile banking, internet banking and ATMs will generally keep running as normal during branch holidays. However, transactions requiring physical branch presence, including locker access, demand draft issuance, certain cash transactions, cheque-related work and account documentation, will be unavailable during branch closures. A branch holiday does not shut down all banking services, but customers requiring physical access to bank staff or facilities should verify their specific branch's holiday schedule before planning visits. RTGS system remains available 24x7x365, including bank holidays, allowing customers to transfer funds electronically. On bank holidays, customers can access digital banking services, such as NEFT, RTGS, internet banking, mobile banking, UPI and ATMs even though in-branch services will not be available. Irrespective of bank holidays, online facilities remain operational throughout the year as banking apps offer services 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, enabling customers to carry out essential online banking transactions without disruption.
The most effective approach for customers planning branch visits is to check their specific branch's holiday list rather than assuming the calendar applies uniformly across all locations. As noted by the RBI, September's calendar includes weekend holidays on September 6, 20, and 27, along with election-related closures in Jaipur on September 11. Bank holidays are not identical across India because the RBI calendar includes state and city-specific closures - a holiday applicable to a branch in one location may not apply to another branch in a different state or city. Customers can continue to use digital banking services such as internet banking, mobile banking, ATMs and UPI during bank holidays. However, nationwide bank strikes in September may further disrupt services, with the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) calling for strikes on September 11 and September 28-30 to press for implementation of five-day banking and withdrawal of the government's revised performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for senior bank officers. In case these strikes are not called off, bank customers could face major disruption in services, especially during the month end. If the planned strikes take place, the services would remain disrupted on September 11, followed by a three-day strike from September 28 to September 30.
