Cash Withdrawals at all ATMs using UPI will be allowed soon

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in a bid to reduce the reliance on debit cards and boost the digital economy has proposed to allow cardless cash withdrawals from all banks and ATMs. These transactions will be carried out by using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Earlier today, at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das presented this proposal. Currently, only selected ATMs and banks facilitate cardless cash withdrawals, and the implementation differs from bank to bank. Mr. Das said: “At present the facility of cardless cash withdrawal through ATMs is limited only to a few banks. It is now proposed to make cardless cash withdrawal facility available across all banks and ATM networks using the UPI. In addition to enhancing ease of transactions, the absence of the need for physical cards for such transactions would help prevent frauds such as card skimming, card cloning, etc.” Cardless cash withdrawal facility enables users to withdraw cash from ATMs without using their debit or credit cards. This facility was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic when touchless transactions were being promoted. Currently, SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and some others offer cardless cash withdrawal facilities.