RBI’s New ATM Charges: What You Need to Know Starting May 1

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made important updates to ATM charges that will start on Thursday, May 1. These changes will affect how many free transactions you get and how much you will pay for extra ones.

Here’s what you need to know:

– Free Transactions: You can make three free transactions at ATMs in big cities (metro areas) and five free transactions in smaller cities (non-metro areas) every month. This includes both money withdrawals and other services like checking your balance.

– Charges for Extra Transactions: After you use up your free transactions, you will need to pay ₹23 for each time you use an ATM again, but this charge will not apply if you are adding cash into ATMs (Cash Recycler Machines).

– ATM Usage Rules: If you use your own bank’s ATM, only money withdrawals will count towards your limit. However, if you use ATMs from other banks, every transaction, whether financial or non-financial, will count against your limit.

Why is This Happening?
The RBI believes this change is necessary to make sure ATM services can continue to operate effectively across India. As of January 2025, there were more than 2 lakh ATMs in the country, but the cost of keeping them running is going up due to things like maintenance and technology updates. The new fees will help ensure that these machines remain available for everyone.

These changes might seem small, but they show how our money-handling systems are adapting in a world where more people are using digital transactions.