Know your ATM linkages, save money

MONEY & YOU

Lazing around in the serene beaches of Alibagh, I had not a care in the world. Our week-long holiday was coming to an end but none of us had the heart to head back to the metropolis.

On a whim, my friends and I decided to extend the holiday. Sauntered to Ratnagiri by bus and called in sick at office on Monday.

All was perfect and beautiful in Ratnagiri with more beaches and pleasant greens until I pulled out my wallet to foot the breakfast bill. I had run out of cash!

In this day of 'Anywhere, Anytime banking', ironical as it is, I didn't know what to do with my HSBC and Development Credit Bank plastics since I found no ATMs of these banks.

I came across a UTI Bank ATM, even a Bank of India one, but I was somewhat not comfortable. Will the machine recognise my card and my pin number? What if the machine just swallows it. Nightmarish predicament.

I decided to keep my plastics in my wallet and lived off my friends, albeit spending meagre amounts.

Back in the city I realised banks do tie up with one another to share ATM networks. As of now, there's no uniformity in way banks charge customers for withdrawals and balance enquiries, making it a tad difficult for the customer to keep track of the nitty gritties.

They have entered into multilateral (between many banks) as well as bilateral (between two banks) arrangements to share their ATM machines.

Popular multilateral arrangements have been branded as Cashtree, Cashnet and Bancs. These groups have a subsidised rate of charges for a customer each time he or she uses another member banks' machines.

Cashtree's members are Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, Dena Bank, Union Bank of India, United Bank of India and Indian Bank. If your bank is a member of a network, jot down the names of the others in the network.

Bancs' members are UTI Bank, Centurion Bank, IDBI Bank, Bank of India, Saraswat Bank, Central Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Punjab & Sind Bank, Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait, Cosmos Bank, Ratnagar Bank, Greater Bank and Bharat Overseas Bank.

Cashnet comprises Citibank, UTI Bank, IDBI Bank, Development Credit Bank, Corporation Bank, Dhanalakshmi Bank, Centurion Bank and Bank of Punjab.

Keep a note of these linkages, and save some charges wherever you are. Or just cut and keep the table here.