Shared ATMs are one proposition that has made life so much easier for a card holder. Now you are not restricted to withdraw money only from your bank’s ATM. With the help of shared ATMs, you can now access your account and withdraw cash using your debit/credit card for this purpose. This has become possible as more and more banks are having tie-ups with each other, or come together to join a common network, thereby leading to inter-bank transactions, facilitating ease and convenience for the customer. However, charges are applicable on these transactions, which may vary from bank to bank, and depend on the tie-up or network your bank has entered.
Today, several multi-shared ATM networks like BANCS, National Financial Switch, Cashnet and Cirrus have gained popularity leading to inter-relationships between banks. However, a bank can be a part of one network but all the ATMs of a bank may not come under the same network. Thus, before you enter an ATM for a transaction, match the logo of your card with the logo displayed on the ATM of the bank. If it matches, then you can carry out your transactions in such an ATM. There is also another system in place wherein banks have tie-ups with other banks in order to use their ATMs for a fee. Card holders have to be wary of using the ATMs of other banks as higher charges may be levied on these transactions. Also, if you use your credit card in place of a debit card to withdraw money from an ATM, then higher charges are applicable on such a transaction as well.
In order to use the ATM in the best possible manner, first of all, maintain a steady balance of funds in your account. This is because in case you have insufficient funds in your account, thereby leading to an incomplete transaction, then banks can levy charges that are as high as Rs. 25 on such a transaction. Also, before you use your card in an ATM machine, ensure that the symbol on the ATM machine matches the one on your card, as it means that such an ATM falls under your card network. While it is always best to stick to your bank’s ATM for all transactions. In case of any contingency where you have to use the ATM of another bank, restrict the amount of withdrawal to a minimum. Also, be aware of the tie-ups your bank has entered with other banks for ATM transactions, and be well-informed about the ATM charges that are levied from bank to bank. In order to lower their transactional costs, it is best for banks to enter into tie-ups with banks that enjoy the most number of transactions for preferential rates, thereby reducing their costs.
However, unlike any prudent customer, it is important that you carefully carry out any electronic transaction since there are a lot if cyber crimes that are being committed by criminals in the cyber world. You do not want to be in a situation to opt for debt like a personal loan or any other kind of loan to repay debts that you are not responsible for. So in order to ensure that you are kept safe from such illegal transactions, do not share your credentials with anyone. It is a time taking process to enter your password and account details twice, but with the advent of the dual authentication service, RBI has surely stepped up their security and protection measures thereby providing better protection services to card users through online transaction thereby enforcing you to take care of transaction being carried on the offline mode.