“Never let anyone interfere with you getting your money.” Isn’t this the reason why ATMs were created, so that you can easily withdraw your money and bid goodbye to the long queues at the bank? However, with the recent demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes, ATMs were shut for days together! Who knew that life without a fully functioning ATM would be so inconvenient, huh?
Additional Reading: What Demonetisation Taught Us About Money Management
It was such relief to finally see that ATMs were being loaded with cash every now and then (mostly at a certain time during the day). Although the queues at these ATMs resembled long centipedes, they seem to be getting shorter by the day; thanks to the money supply that’s easing the crunch.
If you’re still awaiting more news on this, we’ll give you the full scoop. Read on!
- After scrapping the old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes and coming up with new Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 500 ones, according to bankers, a new Rs. 1,000 note is in the works.
- The Central Bank is said to be working on security features for the new Rs. 1,000 notes. It is expected to be the same size as either the Rs. 500 or Rs. 2,000 notes so that banks don’t have to tweak the ATM cassettes to dispense them.
- The withdrawal limit at ATMs has increased from Rs. 4,500 to Rs. 10,000 per card on Savings Accounts and doubled to Rs. 1, 00,000 for Current Accounts.
- While the old cap of Rs. 24,000 per week for Savings Account stays in place, it is rumoured that it could soon be raised up to Rs. 40,000.
- The other good news for people getting married is that you can now withdraw up to Rs. 2,50,000 at a time. So, congratulations!
- The withdrawal limit for farmers is set at Rs. 25,000 per week. An additional 60-day grace period has been allowed for farmers to repay their crop loans and avail 3% interest subvention.
- The withdrawal limit for Jan Dhan Yojana account customers with fully KYC compliant accounts remains at Rs. 10,000. The same applies for non or partially-KYC compliant customers – the limit stays at Rs. 5,000 per account within the monthly limit of Rs. 10,000.
- With regard to depositing old demonetised currency notes at banks, the last date was 30th December 2016. However, post this deadline, the exchange of old notes is allowed only at RBI offices, subject to regulation till 31st March 2017. The RBI also stated that only Indians who weren’t in the country between 8th November and 30th December can deposit the old currency until 31st March, while NRIs have time until 30th June.
- The government’s Specified Bank Notes Cessation of Liabilities Ordinance has declared that people holding more than 10 junked Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes is a penal offence punishable with a minimum of Rs. 10,000 fine.
- The RBI has also set limits on loading e-wallets. You can now load up to Rs. 20,000 instead of Rs. 10,000 as was the case before. The merchants can transfer funds from such Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) to their own linked bank accounts, up to Rs. 50,000 per month, without any limit per transaction.
Psst, here are some tips on Learning To Use Your E-Wallets Safely
- Traders who are registered with agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) and mandis can withdraw up to Rs. 50,000 a week from their Current Accounts.
- It is said that almost Rs. 14 lakh crore of the old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes have come back to banks. Phew!
If you are looking to deposit cash, those who have an SBI account are in luck. The cash deposit machines at SBI outlets are accepting up to Rs. 50,000. Yay!
Additional Reading: Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 No Longer Legal Tender
While it’s a good thing that ATMs have reopened, we must warn you that millions of Indians have spent hours waiting in queues outside ATMs and banks. A lot of ATMs were out of cash, given the high demand and the low supply of notes. But the current withdrawal limit on ATMs is a clear indication that there isn’t a drastic demand and supply (of cash) problem anymore.
Check out the video below to understand what you should do if the ATM fails to dispense cash yet your account gets debited:
Ok then, all the best!
Before you go, want to hear about an easy way to avoid all this trouble? It’s really simple – just go cashless!