Daijiworld Media Network

Chennai, Mar 30: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday strongly criticized the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to allow banks to increase charges on ATM withdrawals beyond the free monthly limit, calling it "institutionalised extraction" that undermines financial inclusion.

Taking to social media platform X, Stalin accused the Union Government of pushing people towards banking services only to burden them later with charges. “The Union Government urged everyone to open bank accounts. Then came demonetisation, pitching #DigitalIndia. What followed? Charges on digital transactions, penalties for low balances, and now the RBI has allowed banks to charge up to Rs 23 per ATM withdrawal beyond the limit,” he wrote.

The DMK chief argued that this move would force people, especially the poor, to withdraw more cash than necessary, contradicting the very goal of financial inclusion. He highlighted that MGNREGA beneficiaries and recipients of Tamil Nadu’s Kalaingar Magalir Urimai Thogai (KMUT) scheme would be the most affected.

“This is not digitisation. It is institutionalised extraction. The poor swipe, the rich smile,” Stalin remarked.

The RBI’s new guidelines, effective from May 1, permit banks to hike ATM withdrawal charges from Rs 21 to Rs 23 after the monthly free transaction limit. Currently, customers can avail five free ATM transactions at their bank’s ATMs and three to five free transactions at other banks, depending on the location.