The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its nod to raise the fee on cash withdrawal through ATMs from May 1, 2025. With this, customers will now pay more in fees for withdrawing funds at ATMs, which could raise their banking expenses. From May 1, 2025, if you take money or check account balance from an ATM of any other bank, you will be required to pay more fees than earlier.
Previously, some transactions were free for a month; then there was a fee of Rs 17, but now it will go up to Rs 19, so you will have to pay Rs 2 extra.
What will be different? From May 1, 2025, fees on ATM transactions will be lowered
The hike will be:
- Cash Withdrawal Fee:₹17-₹19 per transaction
- Balance check fee: ₹6-₹7 per transaction
This fee will be charged when you make a transaction from other banks' ATMs beyond your bank's ATM and your free transaction limit is depleted. This limit is a maximum of 5 transactions in metro cities and 3 transactions in non-metro cities.
Why is this taking place? This hike is founded on the recommendation of NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India), which has been accepted by the RBI. White-label ATM operators had asked for higher fees since they were struggling to bear the previous fees, particularly with the rise in operational expenses.
What can be the impact of this new rule?
Smaller banks could experience more pressure as they possess less ATM infrastructure and are highly reliant on the other banks' ATM networks. This hike in this fee will automatically hit the customers in this case. Post-hike, customers who are frequent ATM users should prefer using only their bank's ATM or skipping extra charges using digital payment methods.