New rules for ATM cash withdrawals in India?

Dubai - A time lag of 6-12 hours between transactions is recommended.

Bankers in New Delhi have suggested a time lag of six to 12 hours between two cash withdrawals at ATMs.

This recommendation came in a meeting involving 18 banks to prevent financial frauds, The Times of India reported on Wednesday.

Mukesh Kumar Jain, managing director and CEO of Oriental Bank of Commerce and convener of the Delhi State-Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC), told the newspaper that a lot of frauds happen between midnight and early morning. Hence, a bar on transactions for a certain period will help prevent these incidents.

If the proposal is accepted by the governing authorities, Indians will not be able to withdraw cash during the stipulated period.

In addition, the banks have also suggested a one-time password-linked withdrawal of funds. This procedure is similar to one used for online banking while using credit or debit cards.

The daily reported that 179 fraud cases were reported in Delhi in 2018-19. It was the second highest after 233 reported in Maharashtra.

Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India had asked banks not to treat failed transactions at ATMs or non-cash transactions such as balance enquiries or cheque book requests as part of five free transactions available to customers every month.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

• India