MUMBAI: ATM users now have a reason to cheer. From April 1, 2009, they may not have to pay service charge for using any ATM if a proposal by the Reserve Bank goes through.The central bank proposed that banks should not levy more than Rs 20 on ATM transactions by customers of other financial institutions starting March 31, 2008 and eventually eliminate the fee by the end of next fiscal.

The RBI, in its draft notification, has also prohibited banks from charging any fee from customers for using ATMs of other banks for services like balance inquiry.Presently, banks charge up to Rs 57 per transaction from customers who use ATMs of other banks for cash withdrawal and balance inquiry, the RBI said in its draft approach paper on Fair Pricing and Enhanced Access of Bank ATMs.

While prohibiting the banks from further increasing the ATM charges, the draft paper said that they would have to reduce the transaction fee to Rs 20 per transaction by the end of the current fiscal (March 31, 2008).Also, the banks would be required to do away with charges for use of ATMs of other banks with effect from April 1, 2009, the draft added.

The central bank has invited comments from interested stakeholders by January 31 next year on its draft paper which seeks to establish a fair and transparent framework for levy of service charges for bank ATMs.