Letters: Paying for ATMs

This refers to A Seshan's letter "A danger at any time" (November 25). Banks can certainly afford the cost of providing adequate security at ATMs. If they have been complacent about this issue, it is probably because instances of robbery at ATMs have been few and far between. As the writer has argued, it is a wake-up call for the banks and the government to ensure that no effort is spared to step up security arrangements at these outlets to requisite levels.

However, the suggestion that ATMs, barring a designated few in central locations, should be closed at night (9 p m to 5 a m) is retrograde. The Bangalore incident took place shortly after 7 a m and not in the dead of night. And the writer's other suggestion that banks could levy a special charge of, say, Rs 5 for every ATM transaction is unwarranted. If banks (particularly the public sector undertakings) pay adequate attention to improving their asset quality, obviating the need for large write-offs year after year, they will not only be able to provide the kind of security that is needed for ATMs but have enough to spare, maybe even to waive the annual charges associated with the issue of ATM/debit cards.

Parthasarathy Chaganty Mumbai

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