ATM cash withdrawals to cost more from today, details here

Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across banks are all set to undergo a change from Sunday, August 1, following an order from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). From this day, the interchange fee that banks charge after each transaction on the ATM machine will go up by ₹2, according to the order issued by the central bank in June.

ATM cash withdrawals will cost more as the interchange transaction fee has now been increased to ₹17 from ₹15. For non-financial transactions, the fee has been raised from ₹5 to ₹6.

Interchange ATM transaction fee is levied on a customer when they use the ATM card issued to them by the home branch of their bank at a machine of another bank. The charge is uniform at the ATM machines across the various outlets of the particular bank.

Bank customers, however, are eligible to avail of three to five free transactions every month from their home branch ATMs. The customers can claim free transactions from ATMs of other banks, too, which includes three withdrawals in metros and five in non-metro cities.

The ATM interchange transaction fee is being raised after nine years, keeping in mind the deployment and expenses undertaken by banks to maintain their ATM machines.

RBI issued the order detailing these ATM transaction changes earlier this year. The changes were announced on the basis of recommendations made by a financial committee set up by the RBI in June 2019. The panel, working under the chairmanship of the chief executive of the Indian Banks’ Association, reviewed the entire gamut of ATM charges and fees with a particular focus on the interchange structure for ATM transactions.

According to a survey, there are more than 115,000 onsite ATMs and nearly one lakh off-site teller machines across India, which handle transactions against 900 million debit cards issued by different banks throughout the country.