Starting November 1 a new rule has been laid down pertaining to ATM use by the Reserve Bank of India.
As per the guidelines issued, customers in six metro cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, can use ATMs for transaction or non-transaction purposes only five times a month. Beyond the threshold, a fee of Rs. 20 per transaction will be applied.
The five transaction limit is for home banks while the limit for non-home banks has been reduced to three from five.
Effective from November 1, SBI branch withdrawals have been limited to four a month for those maintaining a balance of up to Rs. 25000. Customers maintaining a balance of more than Rs. 25000 get unlimited access to home ATMs and three time access to third-party ATMs.
The leading banks, ICICI, HDFC and Axis Bank, however, are holding off the revised ATM charges. Despite the circular allowing them to restrict transaction, they will continue to provide free withdrawals from home ATMs and up to five withdrawals at non-home bank ATMs.
Kotak Mahindra and Yes Bank customers with larger balances will enjoy unlimited withdrawals from third-party ATMs.
This is banks' way of making customers visit the branches which they don't realize gets irritating and cumbersome for the customers.
