Beyond the free transactions, charges are levied for each ATM transaction at a maximum of Rs 21 per transaction.
From 2018, Rs 35,587 crore was levied by the major public and private sector banks from its customers, said Bhagwat Karad, the Union Minister of State of Finance in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
It includes a penalty for non-maintenance of minimum balance, and charges for additional ATM transactions and SMS services.
Of this, the largest amount of Rs 21,044.04 crore was levied for not maintaining a minimum balance. Rs 8,289.32 crores was levied for additional ATM transactions and Rs 6,254 for SMS services.
This includes both private and public sector banks. Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Industrial Bank, ICICI Bank, and IDBI Bank are the private banks encompassed in.
‘In terms of the RBI circular dated June 10, 2021, bank customers are eligible for five free transactions (inclusive of financial and non-financial transactions) every month from their own bank ATMs’, said Mr Karad.
The customers are also eligible for a ‘fixed number of free transactions (inclusive of financial and nonfinancial transactions) from other bank ATMs viz. three transactions in metro centres and five transactions in non-metro centres’, he added.
Beyond the free transactions, charges are levied for each ATM transaction at a maximum of Rs 21 per transaction.
According to the Minister, the government and Reserve Bank of India has also taken various measures to ensure the availability of affordable banking services to the poorest sections of the society. Accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is one such, which allows the customer free from maintaining a minimum balance.
