A Third Of India's ATMs Aren't Working. Banks Ordered To Quick Fix

New Delhi: In need of cash and can't get any? Not surprising. A third of the country's ATMs aren't working, the Reserve Bank of India has discovered, with its top officers ordering a quick fix.  

"Our teams had recently undertaken a survey of almost 4,000 ATMs across the country with a sample fairly representing geographical and bank categories. One third were found not working. We will be taking necessary supervisory action soon," said S S Mundra, the Deputy Governor of the central bank, adding that several ATMs do not provide access for the disabled and are "customer unfriendly".

Mr Mundra also announced the possibility of another major reprieve for customers. The RBI is looking at whether to introduce new rules that would limit your liability in some cases of online financial fraud. 
For example, if your credit card is stolen and used, or money is withdrawn from your account through a duplicate ATM card. How to cap the customer's liability is being worked out, Mr Mundra said, as large swathes of the country make the switch to digital banking. "It is imperative to have a robust mechanism to prevent incidents of fraud in mobile/net banking to retain customer confidence," said the Deputy Governor of the RBI.

At a meeting with compliance officers representing different private and state-run banks, Mr Mundra yesterday also warned that strict action will be taken against banks found selling third-party offerings - like insurance, which has nothing to do with their core business.

In recent years, insurance companies have piggy-backed the vast geographical network of banks to market their products. In return, banks get a commission on the sales.

The RBI has asked banks to put in place a system to inspect sale of such third party products by their staff.