A third of ATMs out of order

​Mumbai/Hyderabad: “Out of order” How many times you had to face this at an ATM kiosk? You may have missed the count of it. You may have run out of swear words you used against the bank too. But a survey by the Reserve Bank of India has revealed that you were right in having this perception of the cash machines across the country.

• Many ATMS did not make provisions for disabled
• RBI considering new rules for online financial fraud
• Customer's liability for stolen cards be capped: RBI

A third of India’s cash machines don’t work posing a challenge for the government as it strives to provide banking services to millions of poor citizens living in rural areas, according to the RBI. It surveyed almost 4,000 ATMs across the country with a “sample size fairly representing geographies and bank categories,” according to Deputy Governor S S Mundra.

“Survey results are not comforting in any way. Almost one-third of the ATMs were found to be not working at that point,” he said.
“I visit ATMs of two different banks. Often, they display ‘no cash’ in ATM. I faced few situations where I had to rush finding ATMs in emergency and when I found which belongs to private bank, it showed only currency of 1000 denomination is available.

When the bank does not deposit sufficient money in the ATM, why do they keep it open?” V Naveen Kumar, a techie from Neredmet asked.

Many ATMS did not make provisions for disabled citizens, the deputy governor said. “Violation of regulatory instructions on display material and facilities for differently-abled were also observed. We will be taking necessary supervisory action in this regard,” Mundra said.

Speaking to The Hans India, N Swathi, a house wife from Vidyanagar said, “Most of the ATMs are located on the first floor. For people with ailments and disability, is it not difficult?

Banks should at least install a ramp, so that elderly people and physically-challenged persons can access them, instead of taking a stranger’s help, which could be quite dangerous.”

Mundra also announced the possibility of another major reprieve for customers. “The RBI is looking at whether to introduce new rules that would limit your liability in some cases of online financial fraud.

For example, if your credit card is stolen and used, or money is withdrawn from your account through a duplicate ATM card. How to cap the customer's liability is being worked out,” Mundra said, as large swathes of the country make the switch to digital banking.

"It is imperative to have a robust mechanism to prevent incidents of fraud in mobile/net banking to retain customer confidence," said the Deputy Governor of the RBI. A few of the ATMs have an option of depositing money.

“Often cash is not collected by the bank from the machine. When I want to make deposits, it displays ‘ATM is Full’ message,” said B Shiva Kumar, a private employee who frequently visits ATMs to deposit money to his parents.

At a meeting with compliance officers representing different private and state-run banks on Monday, Mundra warned that strict action will be taken against banks found selling third-party offerings - like insurance, which has nothing to do with their core business.

In recent years, insurance companies have piggy-backed the vast geographical network of banks to market their products. In return, banks get a commission on the sales.

The RBI has asked banks to put in place a system to inspect sale of such third party products by their staff.