If you often rely on ATMs for cash you’ll need to brace for higher charges starting May 1 2025. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved a hike in ATM fees which means withdrawing cash or checking your balance at ATMs outside your bank’s network will become more expensive. From May 1 customers will face increased fees once they exceed their free transaction limit: Cash withdrawal fee: Rs. 17 - Rs. 19 per transaction Balance inquiry fee: Rs. 6 - Rs. 7 per transaction Effective date: May 1 2025 These charges will apply once you use up your free monthly limit of five transactions at other banks’ ATMs in metro cities and three in non-metro areas. The fee hike comes after ongoing requests from white-label ATM operators who argued that rising operational expenses made the previous charges unsustainable. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) backed the proposal which the RBI has now approved. Smaller banks which rely more heavily on external ATM networks due to their limited reach are expected to feel the strain. The increased interchange fee – the amount one bank pays another when a customer uses an external ATM – will now be more directly passed on to customers. As ATM fees rise frequent users may want to stick to their home bank’s ATMs or shift towards digital payments to avoid extra charges.