New Delhi: If you are frequently transacting through ATMs, then be ready to pay more for interchange fee that banks charge on financial transactions.  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently raised the interchange fee for financial transactions from Rs15 to Rs17, while for non-financial transactions the increase is from Rs5 to Rs6. The new rates will be applicable from August 1, 2021.


The interchange fee is a fee charged by banks to merchants processing payments through credit cards or debit cards, as per RBI. Banks and ATM deployment companies remained at loggerheads over this fee.


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How many ATM cash withdrawals are free?


If you are carrying out transactions in your own bank ATM, then there are five free transactions, inclusive of financial and non-financial transactions every month. You are also eligible for free transactions from other bank ATMs, which include three transactions in metros and five in non-metros.


However, if you cross the limit of free transactions, the ceiling on customer charges is Rs20 per transaction at present, which will be hiked to Rs21 from 1 January 2022. "To compensate the banks for the higher interchange fee and given the general escalation in costs, they are allowed to increase the customer charges to ₹21 per transaction. This increase shall be effective from January 1, 2022," the RBI said in a statement.


RBI had said that banks will be allowed to increase the charges keeping in view the need to balance the rising cost of ATM installation and ATM maintenance expenses incurred by the banks or white label ATM operators as well as the convenience of the stakeholder entities and the customer. has gone. According to the report of news agency PTI, there were 1,15,605 onsite ATMs and 97,970 off-site teller machines and about 90 crore debit cards issued by various banks in the country as of March 31.


Know ICICI Bank ATM cash withdrawal, chequebook charges from August


ICICI Bank has issued a notice on its revised limits of cash transactions, ATM interchange, and chequebook charges. The above revised charges will be applicable for domestic savings account holders including salary accounts, and will be effective from August 1.