No ATM re-filling after 8 PM | Fusion - WeRIndia

Due to the attacks on cash carrying vans, the government has proposed that ATMs should not be re-filled with cash after 8 pm in cities. Furthermore, the private cash transportation agencies should collect the cash in the first half of the day.

In rural areas, the proposed deadline to fill the ATMs would be 5pm. This deadline is even lower for Naxal-affected districts. The cash refill must be done by 3 pm in such areas according to the proposal.

The cash vans would also be specially designed with CCTVs and GPS. Furthermore, the cash limit per trip would also be 5 crore.

The vans would have two armed guards and a driver who would be trained to tackle dangerous situations and drive the vehicle to safety in case of an attack.

The home ministry has proposed these new terms in the new SoPs for private security agencies which are carrying cash and replenishing the ATMs.

In our country, there are approximately 8,000 private vans carrying around Rs.15,000 crore in cash every day between banks, currency chests, and ATMs. The private security agencies also hold up cash of Rs.5,000 every night in their private cash vaults on behalf of the banks.

The home ministry has formed these new SoPs after a string of attacks recently which involved hijacking and looting of cash vans. These vans are considered soft targets by the looters.

That is the reason, the government proposed for re-filling of cash in ATMs to be done only before 8 pm in urban centers across India. Also, the cash transportation agencies are required to collect cash from bank in the first half of the day.

A cash van should not carry more than Rs.5 crore according to the new SoPs. If the van is carrying more than Rs.5 lakh per trip, then it must be specially designed and be very secured.

Image Credit: Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay (Free for commercial use)

Image Reference: https://pixabay.com/it/photos/atm-prelevare-contanti-mappa-1524870/