HDFC Bank raises limit for ATM withdrawal

HDFC Bank has raised the withdrawal limit and shopping limit of all debit cards, effective June 1.

The ATM withdrawal and shopping limits, respectively, for the Imperia Gold card is now Rs1 lakh and Rs1.25 lakh, up from Rs50,000 per day; Easy Shop Regular International/Maestro/NRO cards Rs25,000 and Rs40,000, up from Rs15,000 and 25,000; Kid’s Advantage card Rs2,500, up from Rs1,500 and Rs1,000; Women’s card Rs25,000, up from Rs20,000.

Most other banks offer a withdrawal limit of up to Rs50,000 per day on their debit cards. A notable exception is ICICI Bank.

It allows withdrawals up to Rs1 lakh and a transaction limit of Rs1.5 lakh on its Titanium, Platinum and Signature debit cards per day.

Its Gold card has a withdrawal as well as a transaction limit of Rs50,000. Axis Bank’s Gold card offers a withdrawal limit of Rs50,000, but a shopping limit of Rs1.75 lakh per day.

Banks set cash withdrawal limits for customers according to Reserve Bank of India guidelines.

“Withdrawal limits set by banks usually depend on their customer bases and the nature and ticket sizes of the transactions,” said a banking analyst with a brokerage firm.

“Few transactions or withdrawals by our customers touch the limit. So, as of now, we haven’t thought of raising those limits,” said SS Ranjan, chief financial officer, State Bank of India (SBI). The SBI, the largest public sector bank in the country, has a withdrawal limit of Rs40,000 and transaction limit of Rs50,000 per day.

For cash withdrawals from the ATMs of other banks, banks are still maintaining a limit of Rs10,000 per transaction, allowing five such transactions a month.