RBI Sets Stage For Card-Less Cash Withdrawals Across All ATMs

The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks, automated teller machine networks and white label ATM operators to allow interoperable card-less cash withdrawals.

"All banks, ATM networks and WLAOs may provide the option of ICCW at their ATMs. NPCI (National Payments Corp. of India) has been advised to facilitate Unified Payments Interface (UPI) integration with all banks and ATM networks," the regulator said in a circular.

The regulator has not specified any deadline and the requirement appears to be voluntary at this stage.

Customers will be able to authorise transactions at ATMs through UPI, while the settlement of these transactions at the back-end will happen through the National Financial Switch.

Withdrawal limits should be in-line with debit cards.

According to the RBI, the card-less cash withdrawals will not attract any additional charges, other than those which apply to normal ATM transactions. Presently, customers are charged Rs 21 per transaction, once they exhaust their monthly free transaction limit.

While announcing the Monetary Policy Committee's decision on April 8, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had announced that card-less cash withdrawal will be enabled at ATMs.

"The absence of need for a card to initiate cash withdrawal transactions would help in containing frauds like skimming, card cloning, device tampering, etc.," Das said.

According to data available with the RBI, there were 2.21 lakh ATMs, 93.5 crore debit cards and 7.17 crore credit cards active in India. Customers conducted cash transactions worth Rs 2.56 lakh crore at ATMs in February, using their debit cards.