Bank holidays September 2026: Banks across different parts of India will remain closed on several days in September due to festivals, regional celebrations and other occasions, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) holiday calendar.
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has announced a nationwide strike on September 11, citing delays in introducing a five-day workweek, disagreements over the performance-linked incentive scheme and several unresolved demands, including issues related to pensions, according to PTI.
The bank holiday schedule varies from city to city, meaning a holiday applicable to one location may not necessarily apply to another. Customers planning a visit to a bank branch should therefore check the RBI holiday list for their city before heading out.
Bank holidays in September 2026: Full list
According to the RBI calendar, banks will observe holidays on the following dates in September:
September 4: Janmashtami (Vaishnava)/Krishna Jayanthi — applicable in several cities, including Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Dehradun, Gangtok, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna, Raipur, Shillong and Shimla.
September 11: Elections in the jurisdiction of Jaipur Municipal Corporation — Jaipur.
September 12: Tirubhav Tithi of Srimanta Sankardeva — Guwahati.
September 14: Ganesh Chaturthi/Ganesh Puja and other regional observances — Belapur, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Panaji and Vijayawada.
September 15: Samvatsari (Chaturthi Paksha)/Nuakhai/Ganesh Chaturthi (second day) — Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar and Panaji.
September 21: Janmotsav of Srimanta Sankardeva/Sree Narayana Guru Samadhi — Bhubaneswar and Thiruvananthapuram.
September 22: Karma Puja — Ranchi.
September 23: Birthday of Maharaja Hari Singh Ji — Jammu and Srinagar.
September 25: Indrajatra — Gangtok.
The RBI’s holiday calendar is organised according to regional offices and cities, so customers should note that not every holiday applies nationwide.
Second and fourth Saturdays
Apart from the festival and regional holidays, all scheduled and non-scheduled banks observe public holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month, according to the RBI.
In September 2026, these fall on September 12 and September 26.
What banking services can you use during bank holidays?
Even when bank branches are closed, customers can continue to access several digital banking services.
UPI and online banking: Customers can generally use UPI and internet/mobile banking for payments, fund transfers and other digital transactions.
ATMs: ATM services generally remain available for cash withdrawals and other supported transactions.
RTGS: The RBI says the RTGS system is available 24x7x365, including bank holidays, allowing customers to transfer funds electronically.
However, services that require a physical branch visit, such as certain account-related requests or documentation, will have to wait until the branch reopens.
What should bank customers keep in mind?
Since bank holidays differ across cities, customers should not assume that a holiday listed for one state or city applies to their branch. The RBI’s holiday calendar provides a location-wise schedule, making it important to check the relevant city before planning a branch visit.
Customers who need to deposit physical documents, meet bank officials or complete other branch-based work should ideally plan their visit around the applicable holiday schedule.
4-day disruption likely as unions call strike on September 11
If the proposed strike goes ahead, banking operations, particularly at public sector banks, could be disrupted for up to four consecutive days in several parts of the country.
September 11 falls on a Friday, followed by the weekend, when banks will remain closed as part of the regular holiday schedule. September 14 is also a bank holiday in some states on account of Ganesh Chaturthi.
The UFBU, an umbrella organisation representing nine bank employees’ and officers’ unions, has also announced plans for another three-day nationwide strike from September 28. The proposed action coincides with the banks’ half-yearly closing.
The unions have further warned of an indefinite nationwide strike starting October 26 if the government and bank management fail to address their demands.
The decisions were taken at a meeting on 23 August after the unions accused the government of adopting a “negative attitude” towards their key demands, the UFBU said in a statement.
