Bank Holiday: Today, October 2nd (Gandhi Jayanti), is being celebrated across the country. If you plan to visit the bank tomorrow—Saturday—and are wondering whether it will be open, there is good news. Banks across the country will remain open on October 3, 2026, and operations will proceed as usual. It is worth recalling that a nationwide strike had recently been announced, which had even led to banks remaining open on Sunday, September 27.

However, bank employees had deferred the strike following discussions with the government. Now, a gazette notification has surfaced on social media claiming that the government has declared a public holiday for all public sector banks, including SBI, on every Saturday. This news has raised several questions in people’s minds; let us find out the truth behind it.

Why will banks remain open on October 3?
According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations, banks remain closed only on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. The first, third, and fifth Saturdays are regular working days for banks. Since October 3, 2026, falls on the first Saturday of the month, all banks in the country will remain open. You can visit a branch to complete any pending tasks.

What does the gazette notification say?
A gazette notification (official government notice) is circulating rapidly on social media, claiming to have been issued by the Ministry of Finance (Department of Financial Services). It states that the central government has declared a public holiday on every Saturday for all public sector banks, including the State Bank of India. The emergence of this letter sparked speculation about whether the government had acceded to the bank employees’ demands.

However, a verification by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has confirmed that this letter is fake. In a post on the social media platform X, the PIB stated: A gazette notification circulating on social media—purportedly issued by the Ministry of Finance (Department of Financial Services)—claims that the Central Government has declared every Saturday a public holiday for all Public Sector Banks, including SBI.

#PIBFactCheck:

❌ The document being circulated is #Fake.

✅ No such notification has been issued by @FinMinIndia declaring every Saturday a public holiday for public sector banks.

The truth behind the letter:
A PIB fact check found that the document going viral on social media is fake. No notification declaring every Saturday a public holiday for public sector banks has been issued by @FinMinIndia. Consequently, the PIB Fact Check has identified the letter being shared on social media as a forgery.

If you have any urgent work or pending cheque clearances, please visit your bank branch on Saturday to resolve them, as banks will be closed again on Sunday. Despite bank closures, services such as ATMs, UPI (PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm), and net banking remain operational 24×7 without interruption.