TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: In the aftermath of directions by the Karnataka government for security personnel to be posted at ATMs and other state police asking for better security at ATMs after the horrific attack on a lady bank manager at an ATM in Bangalore, bank managements are trying to push the cost of security onto customers. They are mulling a Rs 6 per ATM transaction even for their own customers who use their ATMs. Also timings are being mooted for certain ATMs.
However, the guarantee of quality of security is not being addressed. As of now, most security guards are not trained and in many cases are found sleeping instead of keeping guard. Even during the day and where there are guards in the ATMs, they are often not in their place.
The directions by the Karnataka government came as a result of a woman bank manager being brutally attacked inside an unguarded ATM kiosk in Bangalore in November. The attacker hit her on the head with a machete after she resisted and after the attacker fled she lay unconscious in a pool of blood for over three hours.
After this, the Karnataka government told banks to post security guards at all ATMs in Bangalore or police would shut them down. Police in various states too want security to be enhanced
In a bid to pass on the expenses that would be incurred on beefing up security to customers, banks are contemplating considering levying an extra charge on all ATM transactions, be it a cash withdrawal or a balance enquiry.
Senior banking officials in the state on condition of anonymity say that yes this proposal has been mooted but no final decision has been taken as yet. However, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations on this are clear and till date many of the directions of the RBI regarding debit card transactions including those at petrol pumps has not been fulfilled.
Customers are upset saying that banks anyway save as they need to employ less staff and have less branches. Online transfer of funds and ATM have led to banks doing away with huge overhead costs of branches, manpower, electricity bills, etc, say consumer activists.
Also, they say banks charge for anything and everything even though they claim they are doing customers a service . Whether it is an annual fee for a debit or credit card usage or for online transfers, each and every thing is charged. Also even as they used to give free SMS alerts today these are slowly being done away and going on the charged account.
They also complain that even now many of the security personnel sleep at night. They are also skeptical
if better security will be provided after charging for services or whether it will remain the same given that the pool of trained security personnel is limited and security agencies employ just about anybody. They also point out that it is an admitted fact that many of the security personnel themselves are involved in crime.
Currently transactions by customers at their respective bank ATMs are free and five transactions in a month at other ATMs are also free.
If security has to be enhanced, bankers claim it would include trained guards, arm licences, installing cameras inside and outside the ATM and connecting alarms to the nearest police station. According to reports banks are in discussions with Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) in a bid to finalise the fees to be charged and the security details.
Bankers claim the cost per transaction works out to Rs 6 if taken on an average of 200 transactions in each of the 100,000-plus ATMs across the country but admit that individual cost for different banks might vary.
