New Delhi: The government has said that the State Bank of India (SBI) has made a significant profit on ATM cash withdrawals over the past five years, totaling Rs 2,043 crore. However, in this area, other public sector banks (PSBs), including nine PSBs, have collectively lost Rs 3,738.78 crore.
Answering a question in the Lok Sabha, union minister Pankaj Chaudhary said that other than SBI, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Canara Bank are the only two PSBs that have reported earnings on ATM cash withdrawals of Rs 90.33 crore and Rs 31.42 crore, respectively.
Responding to a query on whether PSBs make money from ATM cash withdrawals that exceed the allowed limit, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary shared this data.
Referencing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, Chaudhary stated that consumers have the right to five free monthly transactions at their bank’s ATMs, encompassing both financial and non-financial activities.
A set number of free transactions at other bank ATMs are also granted to customers, whereby three transactions are authorized in metro areas and five transactions are permitted in non-metro areas. Beyond these free ones, customers will be charged for each ATM transaction under the guidelines approved by the board of the relevant bank. Customers would be charged a maximum per transaction of Rs 21 plus any relevant taxes.
It may be noted that the RBI has approved a hike of Rs 2 for financial transactions and Re 1 for non-financial transactions, increasing the ATM interchange fees. The revision will be effective from May 1.
The interchange fees for financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, have gone up from Rs 17 to Rs 19, while those for non-financial activities, like checking balances, have gone up from Rs 6 to Rs 7.
The decision to revise interchange fees was communicated to banks and other stakeholders by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) following a request from the white-label ATM operators who had been struggling financially to operate under the current price structure.
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