Know Your ATM Withdrawal Free Limits To Avoid Charges

New Delhi, January 14: After withdrawing money from an ATM, your bank sends you a message on your registered phone number informing about the transaction. But have you noticed if the sum is higher than that of the actual transacted amount? The bank will send such messages when you have crossed the monthly ‘free-limit’ transactions on your debit card, which include both financial (cash withdrawal) and non-financial (balance enquiry changing ATM PIN, etc) transactions.

Private bank account holders, along with the State Bank of India (SBI) allows eight free ATM transactions in a month. Of which, five free transactions can be made with the issuing bank and three free transactions with other banks in a month. After the free-limit, the customer is charged a maximum of Rs 20 for financial transactions and Rs 8.5 for non-financial transactions. 

ATM cash withdrawal charges as on 14 January, 2020: Source, Paisabazaar

ATM cash withdrawal charges on SBI as on 14 January, 2020: Source, Paisabazaar

Naveen Kukreja, CEO of Paisabazaar, suggests: "Debit card users may opt for digital mode of payment as much as possible, including e-wallets, IMPS, internet banking and UPI. Doing so will reduce the use of cash payment, which in turn will decrease the chances of breaching free-limits available on ATM transactions.”

Meanwhile, multiple savings accounts holders can take advantage of their higher cumulative free ATM withdrawals by spreading ATM withdrawals across various savings accounts. This would prevent them from exhausting available free limits of their savings accounts, and hence save on the ATM withdrawal charges.