ATM debited, no cash dispensed: refund and RTI

The machine that took your money has no memory of it — but three systems do: the issuing bank's switch, the ATM operator's log, and NPCI's settlement record. The refund does not depend on your persuasive powers; it depends on those records reconciling. The RBI's harmonisation circular put a clock on that reconciliation, and the clock pays you when the bank misses it.

• Failed transaction defined — a transaction not fully completed for reasons not attributable to you: link failure, no cash in the ATM, session time-out, incomplete credit. Cash debited and not dispensed is the textbook case.
• Auto-reversal: T+5 — for ATMs including micro-ATMs, pro-active reversal of a failed transaction within a maximum of T+5 days, where T is the transaction day.
• Compensation: Rs 100/day — for delay beyond T+5, Rs 100 per day, to the credit of the account holder.
• Suo motu — compensation must be credited by the bank on its own, without waiting for a complaint or claim from you.
• No cash withdrawal evidence needed beyond your debit alert and passbook — the burden of reconciliation is the bank's.

• Day 0 — the failed withdrawal. Note date, time, amount, ATM ID, card last four digits.
• Immediately — call the bank's helpline and log a complaint; take the complaint or ticket number. Every channel creates a record.
• T+5 — if the debit is still unreversed, the compensation clock has started. Follow up citing the circular by number.
• 30 days after your complaint, or on rejection — escalate to the RBI Integrated Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in, with the complaint trail attached.
• RTI — against a public sector bank, for the dispute file, the switch log, and the compensation calculation. Against a private bank, RTI does not run directly — the Ombudsman is the route, and RBI itself is an RTI-addressee for its supervisory record.

Sunil Rao's father pressed Rs 5,000 at a mall ATM; the machine shut down mid-count, the debit SMS arrived, the cash did not. The branch asked for a “written application, ten working days”. His one-page complaint to the nodal officer cited the T+5 rule and asked for auto-reversal plus Rs 100 per day beyond day five — the credit landed on day four, compensation for nothing. When a second failure at the same ATM repeated the pattern, an RTI to the bank asked for the dispute file, the ATM's error log for that date, and the action taken on the first complaint. The reply showed the machine had been faulting for a fortnight; it was serviced the week the reply reached the regional office. The refund rule fixes your money; the record fixes the machine.

To:
The Central Public Information Officer,
[Bank name], [Branch / Regional Office]

Subject: Application under section 6, RTI Act 2005 —
failed ATM transaction and dispute status

Sir/Madam, in respect of the failed ATM transaction
on my account [NUMBER] at ATM ID [ID] on [DATE, TIME],
amount Rs [AMOUNT], complaint No. [NUMBER], kindly
provide:

1. The status of the dispute and the date of
   auto-reversal effected or proposed.
2. The reason for delay beyond T+5 days under RBI
   circular DPSS.CO.PD No. 629/02.01.014/2019-20.
3. The compensation calculated at Rs 100 per day
   beyond T+5, days counted, and date of credit.
4. The error log or fault report of the said ATM
   for [DATE], and the date of the last servicing.
5. Action taken on complaint No. [NUMBER], with the
   name and designation of the officer responsible.

Application fee of Rs. 10 paid as per rules.

Yours faithfully,
[Name, address, phone]

That is their reconciliation, not your burden. The T+5 reversal rule applies to the failed transaction regardless; a tallied cassette does not displace the debit alert on your account.

The circular says suo motu — the bank must credit it without a claim. If it has not, that omission itself is the Ombudsman complaint, and, in a public sector bank, an RTI point.

Your issuing bank owns the refund; it settles with the ATM's bank through the network. Never chase the other bank — the T+5 clock runs against your bank.

Complain promptly and keep the ticket number — but the auto-reversal duty is not conditional on your complaint, and the Ombudsman accepts escalation 30 days after your complaint to the bank, or on its rejection.

Not directly — private banks are not public authorities. Use the Ombudsman for the money, and where the record matters, RBI and the public sector legs of the payment chain remain RTI-addressee.

• UPI fraud recovery — the full guide
• Banking Ombudsman complaint guide
• All banking and money guides
• File RTI online — 12 steps
• RTI — 25 questions answered
• The RTI Playbook book — drafting, appeals and deadlines in one place.

Last reviewed: 26 August 2026.