From April 1, 2026, many big banks of the country like HDFC Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bandhan Bank have made changes in the rules related to ATM transactions. These changes will have a direct impact on the way customers withdraw cash, the limit of free transactions and additional charges.
HDFC Bank has now included cash withdrawal from ATM through UPI in the monthly free transaction limit. This means that now withdrawing cash from UPI will also be considered like a normal ATM transaction. If customers withdraw more than the prescribed free limit (usually 5 transactions), they will have to pay Rs 23 (exclusive of taxes) on each additional transaction.
PNB has reduced the daily cash withdrawal limit on many of its debit cards. Earlier, there was a facility to withdraw up to Rs 1 lakh on some cards, now it has been reduced to Rs 50,000. At the same time, this limit for premium cards has been reduced from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 75,000. This change will be applicable to many cards of RuPay, Visa and Mastercard.
Bandhan Bank has also amended the rules for ATM use. Customers can make 5 free financial transactions per month at their ATM, while there is no limit on non-financial transactions. 3 free transactions will be available in metro cities and 5 in non-metro cities at ATMs of other banks. After this, Rs 23 will be charged on every financial transaction and Rs 10 on non-financial transactions. If the balance is less, a penalty of Rs 25 will also have to be paid for a failed transaction.
It is clear from these new rules that now more attention will have to be paid to ATM use than before. Due to inclusion of UPI withdrawal limit, reduction in daily withdrawals and reduction in free transactions, customers will have to plan their cash usage better so that unnecessary charges can be avoided.
