New Delhi: The charges deducted from the account of a bank customer for use of an ATM of another bank, is likely to go up from May 1. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved a revision of ATM interchange fees and the new rates are likely to become effective from May 1, 2025.
The last time these fees were revised was in June 2021, an official said.
Customers using the ATM of another bank (once the number of free transactions is exceeded) to withdraw cash are now charged Rs 17 per transaction. From May 1, they are likely to be charged Rs 19.
For non-cash transactions, such as balance checks, customers may have to shell out Rs 7 from May 1, in place of the Rs 6 charged now.
“Many people are not even aware that their account balances are getting deducted for using ATMs of other banks. Actually, the home bank does not keep the sum that is deducted from the account balance. It pays the amount to the bank whose ATM has been used as a kind of service charge,” the official explained.
Customers are allowed a certain number of free transactions. They can use metro ATMs (of other banks) five times a month without paying any charge. For non-metro ATMs, the number of free transactions is three.
Another official said that customers should try to use own bank ATMs as far as possible to prevent such charges from being imposed. Even if there are no home bank ATMs in the vicinity, they should manage transactions in such a way, so as to remain within the free limit.
“The best that customers can do is go in for digital payments, using UPI or NetBanking,” the official said.
