Saptari – It costs Rs 40 to make a photocopy of a sample signature card required to operate a bank account which should be available free of cost in Humla.

A complaint has been lodged at the branch of Citizens Bank established in Sarkegard village in the central region of Humla saying that the sample signature card has run out.Dhirendra Fadera of Unapani village in Sarkegard Gaonpalika-3 said that they have to pay Rs.After the village municipality has implemented the provision of paying the social security allowance through the bank, the service recipients who open the account have been running out of money in the bank.”When I asked the bank why it was necessary to photocopy the signature card at such a high price, the card was lacking,” he said.Chhiring Fadera, another local from the same village, said that the service recipients have been put in financial trouble as the bank should have arranged for photocopies if the card had expired.Chhiring said that not only the signature card but also the KYC firm had to be photocopied for Rs 40. Locals have complained that they are charging the price of the card and KYC firm arbitrarily due to lack of other banks and photocopy centers.This problem has been faced by the service recipients from wards 1 to 8 of Sarkegad village municipality. After having to open a bank account, the service recipient is compelled to operate the account at a high price as there is no other option.

In this regard, the branch manager Arjun Rawal said that the bank did not do so. He said that the bank has given the card to the service recipient by scanning it as much as possible.The bank has stated that sometimes there is a problem with the card as it has to be taken directly from Kathmandu.