BUSINESS / Companies

In cash-loving Japan, banks still busy despite coronavirus emergency

An employee at a MUFG Bank branch in central Tokyo on Friday stands behind a plastic curtain installed to prevent coronavirus infections. | REUTERS

REUTERS

Apr 28, 2020

Japanese retail customers' love affair with cash — and some extra free time while working at home — is keeping banks busy despite government calls for people to reduce contact to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

While many metropolitan areas have seen sharp declines in pedestrian traffic since a state of emergency was declared early this month over the COVID-19 pandemic, the banking arms of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. said total visitor numbers in April declined by just 10 and 15 percent, respectively.

In some residential areas, branches have even seen an uptick. MUFG figures include ATMs, while SMFG numbers do not.

In cash-loving Japan, banks still busy despite coronavirus emergency

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