State Bank of India halves withdrawal limit at ATMs to ₹20,000 per day to prevent fraud

• State Bank of India (SBI) has reduced the withdrawal limit from ₹40,000 to ₹20,000 per day to minimise fraudulent transactions and promote digital transactions.
  

• The lower limit will be effective from 31 October.
  

• The reduced limits are applicable on Classic and Maestro debit cards.

The largest commercial bank in India, State Bank of India (SBI), has cut down the withdrawal limit on ATM transactions for certain debit cards from ₹40,000 to ₹20,000 per day. The lower limit will be applicable from 31 October. The withdrawal limit has been imposed on Classic & Maestro debit cards. However, the account holders with higher card variants can continue to benefit from the regular daily withdrawals.

The average cash withdrawals from ATMs per card have been examined to be less than ₹20,000 a day and the lower limit will help in checking frauds and promote digital transactions.

SBI alerted its account holders, the ones with the Classic and Maestro debit cards, regarding the reduction in the limits about a month ago. The users with Gold and Platinum cards will continue to enjoy higher withdrawal limits of ₹50,000 and ₹1 lakh a day, respectively. The bank has asked its customers to upgrade to the higher variants to enjoy higher ATM withdrawals.

The SBI website had put out the following message on the website:

“Daily cash withdrawal limit for Classic and Maestro debit cards has been reduced from ₹40,000 to ₹20,000 per day with effect from October 31.

If you require higher daily cash withdrawal limit, please apply for a higher card variant.”

The bank has initiated the lower limit to reduce fraudulent transactions and encourage cashless transactions. As reported by Hindustan Times, the ATM transactions were analysed and it was found that majority of the frauds reported to the bank happened to be of ₹40,000 that is the maximum limit per day. The reduced withdrawal limit was picked to protect customers and encourage digital transactions, SBI Managing Director PK Gupta explained.

As per reports, multiple cases in the past saw a trend of stealing debit card PIN numbers via hidden cameras and electronic devices. The bank feels that the move will help to keep close check on fraudulent activities.

However, enough are of the opinion that the debit card users are most prone to card frauds and the risk is not limited to ATMs.

In India, the demand for cash continues to be high, despite the government promoting digital transactions. But, daily transactions have been reported to be of amounts lesser than ₹20,000, so this move should help to track frauds on ATM transactions.

A large number of card users are to be impacted by the reduced limits since SBI’s Classic card holds a majority of its card portfolio.