SBI Cuts Free ATM Trips: Does Your Salary Account Pay?

From October 1, SBI salary account holders will get only 5 free transactions at other banks' ATMs each month, down from 10. Extra withdrawals will still cost you. Here's what to do before the change hits.

Here's what happened: SBI is cutting free ATM transactions at other banks' ATMs for salary account holders from 10 to 5 per month, effective October 1.. The charge per transaction beyond the free limit remains at ₹21 for cash withdrawals and ₹8.50 for balance enquiries at other banks' ATMs.. Transactions at SBI's own ATM network are not part of this reduction and remain separately free for salary account holders..

What you should do: Track your last 2-3 months' ATM usage in your SBI statement and count how many withdrawals were at non-SBI ATMs — if it's over 5 regularly, you'll start paying.. Locate the nearest SBI ATM to your home, office, and commute route now and set it as your default cash point to stay within the free limit.. If you're regularly hitting 8-10 ATM withdrawals a month, switch to UPI or debit card payments for daily spends to cut your cash dependency before October..

SBI's ATM locator app and Google Maps both show SBI ATMs with 'SBI ATM' filters — spending 5 minutes mapping 2-3 SBI ATMs on your route eliminates the new fee entirely.