Since their inception five decades ago, ATMs (Automated Teller Machines)
have rapidly proliferated worldwide. In India also, they are spreading
at breakneck speed. The public seem to prefer ATM transactions to credit
cards since they are less risky and do not involve the payment of
interest.
Customer complaints about ATMs are also increasing rapidly. They
include non-disbursal of cash and excessive debit from the customer's
account. When a customer encounters such a problem, very often he does
not know how to get it redressed.
The following are the Reserve Bank of India guidelines regarding ATMs (available at their website).
1. Customer Charges:
a. For use of own ATMs for any purpose - Free
b. For use of other bank ATMs for any purpose - Five transactions per month free.
After 5 free transactions, typical fees are Rs. 20 per financial transaction and Rs. 10 per non-financial transaction (such as checking account balance).
c. For cash withdrawals using credit cards - Fee can be charged. (Typically, the fee is equivalent to 25-35% annual interest.)
2. Security Measures:
The machine should not respond unless Personal Identification Number
is entered separately for each transaction. So even if a customer
forgets his card at the ATM, the next person will not be able to misuse
it.
3.Resolution of customer complaints:
a. Banks have to resolve customer complaints within 7 working days from the date of receipt of the complaint.
b. If the complaint is lodged within 30 days of the date of
transaction and the bank does not resolve it within 7 days from the date
of lodging the complaint, it has to pay the customer Rs. 100 for each
day of delay.
The RBI also requires all ATMs to be user-friendly for persons
with disabilities. The ATMs should be provided with ramps and their
height should be such that they are accessible to wheelchair users. At
least one third of new ATMs installed should be talking ATMs with
Braille keypads which can be used by visually impaired persons.
Any customer who faces any problem at an ATM should immediately
complain to the bank which issued the ATM card to him/her and the bank
which operates the ATM. If the problem is not resolved, he/she can
approach the consumer courts against the deficieny in service.
Pooja Kini, Mysore Grahakara Parishat