From now onwards, if you return empty-handed from a nearby ATM as there is no cash then the lender will pay a fine of Rs 10,000 if the ATM fails to replenish the money. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently announced a “Scheme of Penalty” on banks if ATMs fail to deliver cash or run out of cash.
The inconvenience caused to the people because of the shortage of cash in ATMs led the central bank to take this decision. The RBI circular states that “The ‘Scheme of Penalty for Non-replenishment of ATMs’ has been formulated to ensure that sufficient cash is available to the public through ATMs.’
Know the ‘Scheme of Penalty’ for non-replenishment of ATMs?
The Central Bank of India has made it compulsory to issue banknotes and the banks must fulfil this mandate by dispensing banknotes to the public through their wide network of branches and ATMs. Recently, RBI has reviewed the downtime of ATMs due to cash-outs. As per the banking regulator, it is observed that “ATM operations affected by cash-outs lead to non-availability of cash and cause avoidable inconvenience to the members of the public.”
So, the Reserve Bank of India has asked the White Label ATM Operators (WLAOs)/ banks to strengthen their systems. The banks needed to keep a keen eye on the availability of cash in ATMs and make sure to timely replenishment to avoid cash-outs.
How Penalty Will be Applicable?
The new scheme will be in effect from October. The RBI would come into play in case if instances of cash-outs in an ATM appear.
According to the issued regulatory, the lenders are required to give a detailed report for a system-generated statement on the downtime of ATMs due to non-replenishment of cash to the issue department of RBI under whose jurisdiction these ATMs are located.
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Issue departments of the regional offices of the Bank will administer the ‘Scheme of Penalty’. The in-charge officer of the issue department of the Regional Office under whose jurisdiction the ATMs are located can impose a penalty on banks and ATMs.
The Central Bank also added to its statement that “As the scheme intends to ensure replenishment of ATMs in time, appeals would be considered only in cases of genuine reasons beyond the control of bank or WLAOs such as the imposition of lockdown by the state or administrative authorities, strike, etc.”
