If you returned from any ATM, in case of no money then the bank will have to pay a fine. Now no one needs to wander from ATM to ATM in time of emergency, the RBI found a way out to get rid of this problem.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently instructed all banks and white label ATM operators (WLAOs) to put in a robust system. That will allow them to monitor the availability of cash in ATMs and ensure timely replenishment to avoid cash-out situations. The central bank has introduced a ‘scheme of penalty for non-replenishment of ATMs’, effective October 1, 2021, wherein bank and white label ATM operators will be penalised, in the event of cash-out beyond the permissible time limit.
WHITE LABEL ATM
- white label ATMs are operated by non-bank entities.
- Any non-bank entity with a minimum net worth of Rs.100 crore, can apply for white label ATMs.
- These ATMs doesn’t have a bank logo but their company’s logo.
HOW MUCH IS THE PENALTY
According to the RBI new rule scheme of penalty for non-replenishment of ATMs, a penalty of Rs 10,000 per ATM will be imposed in the event of a cash-out situation for more than 10 hours in a month. “In the case of white label ATMs (WLAOs), the penalty would be charged to the bank which is meeting the cash requirement of that particular white label ATM. The bank, may, at its discretion, recover the penalty from the white label ATM operator’, RBI said.
ON WHAT BASIS THIS RULE HAS BEEN BROUGHT BY RBI
The scheme has been formulated following a review of downtime of ATMs due to cash-outs. RBI said it was observed that ATM operation affected by cash-outs lead to non-availability of cash and cause avoidable inconvenience to the member of the public.
HOW WILL RBI KNOW
The RBI has said banks have to submit system-generated statements on the downtime of ATMs due to non-availability of cash to the ‘Issue Department’ of RBI, under whose jurisdiction of ATMs are located. For white label ATM operators, who depend on the bank to replenish their cash requirement, the bank should furnish a separate statement on cash-out of such ATMs due to non-replenishment of cash.
“Such statement shall be submitted for every month within five days of the following month i.e., first such statement for October 2021 shall be submitted on or before 5th November 2021 to the Issue Department concerned,” RBI said.
The officer-in-charge at the ‘Issue Department’ of RBI’s regional office is the competent authority to levy the penalty on banks for non-availability of cash in ATMs in their jurisdiction.
“Appeal against the decision of the competent authority, if required, may be made by the banks/white label ATM operators(WLAOs) to the Regional Director/Officer-in-charge of the regional office concerned, within one month from the date of imposition of penalty,” RBI said.
ATM IN INDIA
There were 1,15,605 onsite ATMs and 97,970 off-site ones as of March 31, 2021. About 90 crore debit cards issued by different banks were outstanding at the end-March 2021. That apart, the number of white label ATMs stood at 25,013. India’s rural areas account for 20% of all ATMs in India. India had 20.95 ATMs per 100,000 adults as of 2019, lower than several other nations, according to the World Bank.