State Bank of Hyderabad supports charges on ATM usage

Close on the heels of SBI favouring charging customers for usage of ATMs, State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), its largest associate, has come out with its support to the proposal.
"We will faithfully follow the parent (SBI). We are looking at charging (customers) a fee for ATM withdrawals," M Bhagavantha Rao, SBH Managing Director told reporters here while replying to a question on the issue.
With State governments asking banks to ensure presence of security guards round-the-clock, the cost of maintaining ATMs have gone up, which was around Rs 45,000 per month per ATM, Rao said.
SBH has a network of about 2,000 ATMs, he said.

Stating that ATMs per se need not make profits, but should not also turn into a loss making proposition, he said SBH was providing round-the-clock security for all ATMs in Karnataka, parts of Maharashtra and Hyderabad.
"We are moving to a situation where the 24-hour security guards would become mandatory," Rao said.