New RBI Guidelines: ATM Withdrawal Charges Set to Rise From May 1:

Individuals who regularly withdraw money from ATM will have to pay a higher transaction fee from May 1, 2025. Therefore, if you cross the free limit for transactions, the bank will charge a higher withdrawal charge approved by the Reserve Bank of India.

New Charges Will be Implemented from May

The current charges after availing the free transaction limit per month are Rs. 21. However, from May 1, 2025, you will be charged Rs. 23 per transaction. This hike will mostly impact people who often withdraw often cash from ATMs.

No Change in the Free Transaction Limit

Even though the transaction fees are increased, the number of free transactions will remain unchanged. Customers using their Bank's ATM have five free transactions per month. Additionally, they can use three free transactions in case they use ATMs of other banks in metro areas. For non-metro areas, they get five free transactions.

Fee Hike May Cost Small Bank Customers More

Customers from smaller banks with few ATMs are most likely to be affected by the ATM fee hike. These customers often use ATM of larger banks and end up paying more once their free monthly limit is used up. Some may even think about changing banks with wider ATM access to avoid extra charges and save on transaction costs.

Why the ATM Withdrawal Fee is Increased?

The hike follows repeated requests by banks and white-label ATM operators, who complained that their expenses for maintaining ATMs have gone up. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) consented to the fee rise on the advice of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).