Customers sulk at ATM withdrawal charges

PATNA: People in Patna had major relief when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) removed all charges on ATM transactions after demonetisation of old Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes in November last year. However, many customers are not happy with the banks now as they have not only started charging them for transacting more than the stipulated times at their respective branches per month, but also introduced the same on ATM transactions as well.
Sources in banks said even the State Bank of India (SBI) will charge Rs10 (excluding service tax) beyond five ATM transactions for account holders and Rs20 for non-account holders from April 1. Private sector players like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank have already started it from March 1, and charge a minimum of Rs150 per transaction for cash deposits and withdrawals beyond four free transactions in a month.
Chartered accountant Ibrahim Gadly says the SBI step is a harsh one. “I understand the step taken by the private sector banks, but the SBI shouldn’t levy charges on transactions from their own ATMs.”
Local businesswoman Parinita Nitish Kumar said people deposit money in the bank to feel safe. “Putting a limit on transactions does not make sense, especially by the public sector banks. Withdrawing large sums of money to escape the charges beats the whole purpose of saving money in a bank,” she said.
Content writer Imbesat Khan said, “Banks say the decision has been taken to promote digital transaction, but it is not a good move.”
SBI’s chief manager (ATM operations) Minisha Anand said the move was to support digitisation. “The steps have been taken in order to curb cash transactions and promote digitisation. Digital transactions are risk-free as well,” she added.
An ICICI spokesperson from Mumbai head told this correspondent over phone that during the initial period of demonetisation, the bank had discontinued charging customers on the fifth ATM transaction, but has reintroduced the charges without any changes from March 1.