Federal Bank Ltd. on Jan. 26 became India’s first debit card issuer to stop charging its customers who use other banks’ ATMs, regardless of how many times they do so, a spokesperson for the Kochi-based bank tells PaymentsSource.
The Reserve Bank of India in 2009 adopted a policy requiring banks to allow their cardholders five free foreign-ATM withdrawals per month. Most banks charge 20 rupees (43 U.S. cents or 32 euro cents) per subsequent withdrawal, though they do not charge for balance inquiries.
Federal Bank adopted its policy to eliminate the five-withdrawal limit as a service to its customers, regardless of the type of account they hold, the spokesperson says.
Federal Bank issues Visa-branded debit cards, and its own an ATM network accepts only cards within Visa’s Plus ATM network, he adds.
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