In a significant update for millions of account holders, the State Bank of India (SBI) has announced a major change in its ATM usage rules, effective from February 1, 2025. This change impacts both cash withdrawals and balance inquiries made through ATMs.
SBI ATM Rules: If you have an account in State Bank of India (SBI), then this news is for you. SBI customers who use ATMs more may get a shock. From February 1, 2025, SBI has changed the rules for withdrawing money and checking balance from ATMs. Now the number of free transactions has become the same for all customers, whether they live in a metro city or in a small village.
This marks a departure from the previous policy, where the number of free transactions varied depending on the customer’s location. Under the revised rules:
Now you will get free transactions 5 times every month from SBI ATM and 10 times from ATMs of other banks. That is, you can do a total of 15 transactions every month without any charge. If you have an average balance of Rs 1 lakh or more in your account, then you will get the facility of unlimited free transactions.
The bank has also revised its charges for exceeding these limits:
If you withdraw money more than the free transaction limit, then you will have to pay Rs 15 + GST on SBI ATM and Rs 21 + GST on ATMs of other banks. At the same time, if you use SBI ATM for balance check or mini statement, then there will be no charge. But if you do this at another bank’s ATM, you will have to pay Rs 10 + GST.
The structure of free transactions is now uniform:
How many free transactions will you get now?
5 free transactions from SBI ATM every month
10 free transactions from ATMs of other banks every month
That is, every customer will get a total of 15 free transactions.
If the average balance in your account every month is more than Rs 1 lakh, then you will get unlimited free transactions.
Furthermore, SBI customers are advised to maintain a sufficient balance in their accounts to avoid penalty charges in case of failed transactions:
If there is less money in your account and the transaction fails, SBI will charge a penalty of Rs 20 + GST. This rule is already in force and no change has been made in it.
Adding to this, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is also set to implement new ATM rules from May 1, 2025:
RBI’s new rules will come into effect from May 1, 2025. After this, if a customer withdraws money from the ATM after the free limit, then he may have to pay a charge of up to Rs 23 per transaction. Therefore, it would be better if the customer keeps in mind the free limit and does not use the ATM repeatedly if not needed. This decision of SBI has been taken to promote digital banking. If customers transact using UPI, internet banking or mobile app, they do not have to pay any extra charges. This will not only save money but also time.
