If you’re a frequent ATM user and thought demonetization was a blip on the horizon, think again. According to a report in The Economic Times, the government is mooting on a proposal to limit the number of free ATM transactions to three from the existing eight-to-ten, including transactions from the bank where you have an existing account.
The report mentions that the change will come about to aid a push to cashless banking and digital payments with the proposal was apparently floated by bankers at pre-budget consultations with the finance ministry.
“The proposal to bring down free ATM transactions to three per month has been discussed with the finance ministry, and this is one of the measures being considered to dis-incentivise the use of cash,” the report quotes a senior banker as saying.
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The push to three-free transactions a month is to push people to use the digital platforms more and hasten the move to cashless transactions. Since November 2014 people are allowed five free transactions a month after which a fee of Rs 20 plus service tax is levied. For customers not with their banks, a fee is not charged for three transactions in the six metros with five free transactions in non-metros.
Just last week, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant was quoted as saying that the intention was to make ATMs and PoS machines redundant in the country by the end of this decade.
