Mumbai: The free access to automated teller machines (ATMs) of any bank will be closed from October 15 as the third-party ATM usage would carry a cap on the withdrawal amount and the number of transactions each month. From October 15, a customer can take out a maximum of Rs.10,000 per withdrawal from ATMs not owned by the bank in which the customer has an account, and the number of such transactions would be limited to five a month.

In August, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had asked banks to impose the restrictions on third-party ATM usage from mid-October. The step followed recommendations by Indian Banks' Association (IBA), an industry lobby. IBA had submitted its recommendations to the central bank last July citing financial burden on banks due to a large number of third party usage and small-ticket withdrawals, resulting in high interchange expenses for banks.

Going by the IBA guidelines, a savings account holder may get five free third-party transactions a month and could be charged from sixth onwards. However, current account holders might not get any free third-party usage.