Free ATM cash withdrawal from April 1, 2009

A very good move by RBI which favours the Public
Citizens will now be able to withdraw money from any automated teller machine (ATM) free of charge from April 1, 2009. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday issued the final guidelines for age of ATMs, and charges to be collected by banks for accessing ATMs.

RBI, in its discussion paper on the issue released in December, had said banks would have to reduce the charge for use of other bank ATMs for cash withdrawals to Rs 20 per transaction by March 31, 2008.

"It is evident that the charges levied on the customers vary from bank to bank and also vary according to the ATM network that is used for the transaction. Consequently, a customer is not aware, before hand, of the charges that will be levied for a particular ATM transaction, while using an ATM of another bank. This generally discourages the customer from using the ATMs of other banks. It is, therefore, essential to ensure greater transparency.

"International experience indicates that in countries such as the UK, Germany and France, bank customers have access to all ATMs in the country, free of charge except when cash is withdrawn from white label ATMs or from ATMs managed by non-bank entities. There is also a move, internationally, to regulate the fee structure by the regulator from the public policy angle. The ideal situation is that a customer should be able to access any ATM installed in the country free of charge through an equitable co-operative initiative by banks," the central bank said.