Banks, particularly state-owned lenders, are set to waive ATM charges for customers during the three-day bank employees’ strike from September 28 to 30 to minimise inconvenience to customers. 

The State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Baroda (BoB), Union Bank of India (UBI), Indian Bank and several other public sector banks (PSBs) have said they will not charge customers for ATM withdrawals beyond the free transaction limits prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during the three days.

Under the current RBI framework, savings-account customers are entitled to five free ATM transactions a month at their own bank’s ATMs. At other-bank ATMs, customers get three free transactions in six metro cities and five in non-metro locations. Once the applicable free limit is exhausted, banks can charge up to ~23 per transaction, plus GST. The ATM interchange fee between banks currently stands at ~19 for financial transactions and ~7 for non-financial transactions.

Banks are going ahead with their three-day strike, despite the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), and bank managements appealing that the strikes be deferred.  The UFBU and certain other unions and associations in PSBs, supported by regional rural banks (RRBs), have called for a series of strikes in support of two principal demands — implementation of a five-day banking week and withdrawal of the performance linked incentive (PLI) scheme. 

The government has decided to keep the PLI scheme in abeyance. However, with the demand for a five-day banking week yet to be accepted, the UFBU, the umbrella body of bank employee and officer unions, went ahead with a one-day strike on September 11. The unions have also announced an indefinite strike from October 26 if their demands remain unresolved even after the three-day strike.

The three-day strike from September 28 to 30, when combined with the preceding weekend, is likely to result in an effective five-day closure of banking services.

The bank unions have also received support from employee unions at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The All India Reserve Bank Employees’ Association (AIRBEA) and the All India Reserve Bank Employees Federation (AIRBEF) have announced demonstrations for September 28. These two unions also objected to the RBI’s approval to banks to remain open on Sunday, September 27.