RBI constitutes high-level committee to review ATM charges

June 12, 2019

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a high-level committee under the chairmanship of VG Kannan, Chief Executive of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) to review the entire gamut of ATM charges and fees.

Key Highlights

Background: There are around 2 lakh ATMs in India. At end of April 2019, there were over 88.47 crore debit cards and 4.8 crore credit cards in function, and as per RBI data during April only 80.9 crore transactions were done through debit cards on ATM.
Need: Over the years, uses of ATMs have grown significantly and there have been persistent demand of changing ATM charges and fees. Thus amid demands for reviewing the levies by bank, RBI constituted high-level committee.
Constitution: The six member committee chaired by of VG Kannan, will consist of members namely- Dilip Asbe (CEO, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)), Giri Kumar Nair (CGM, State Bank of India (SBI), Sanjeev Patel (CEO, Tata Communications Payment Solutions (TCPSL)), S Sampath Kumar (Group Head, Liability Products, HDFC Bank), and K Srinivas (Director, Confederation of ATM Industry (CATMi)).
Function:
It will examine existing patterns of costs, charges and interchange fees by banks for automated teller machines (ATMs) transactions.
It will review overall patterns of usage of ATMs by cardholders and also assess impact (if any) on charges and interchange fees levied by banks.
It will assess entire range of costs in respect of ATM ecosystem within the country.
It will make recommendations on optimal charge or interchange fee structure and pattern.
Timeframe: It will submit its report to RBI within two months from date of its first meeting.