The State Bank of India (SBI) has reduced the per day cash withdrawal limit for all Classic and Maestro Debit Cards holders from Rs 40,000 to Rs 20,000 with effect from Wednesday.

"Daily Cash withdrawal limits for Classic and Maestro Debit Cards reduced from Rs 40,000 to Rs 20,000 per day with effect from October 31, 2018. If you require higher daily cash withdrawal limit, please apply for a higher card variant," read a statement from the bank.

The decision has reportedly been taken by the bank to curb increasing instances of ATM frauds.

Below we have listed few updates you need to know:

1. Daily cash withdrawal limit for Classic and Maestro debit cards has been reduced from Rs 40,000 to Rs 20,000 per day with effect from October 31

2. If you require higher daily cash withdrawal limit, you need to apply for a higher card variant

3. SBI Managing Director PK Gupta told PTI that the move intends to protect customers from fraudulent cash withdrawals from ATMs and also to spur more digital transactions.

4. Lately, the reports of  ‘ATM cash-out,’ in which crooks hack a bank or payment card processor and use cloned cards at cash machines around the world to fraudulently withdraw millions of dollars in just a few hours had become quite rampant.

5. In its efforts to check cyber frauds, the RBI had in June 2016 issued guidelines for banks on setting up their own cybersecurity framework. Three months later, it again urged banks to follow the norms to tackle internet fraud. The regulator also formed an inter-disciplinary committee on cybersecurity in February 2017.

(With inputs from agencies)

"We analysed all the ATM transactions and we found that most of them are less than Rs 20,000 a day. In case of frauds reported to us, we found that in all such cases withdrawals of Rs 40,000 (the maximum) have happened. So this is basically to protect the customers and secondly, we want that more such (digital) transactions should happen," said SBI Managing Director, PK Gupta said.

If any customer wants higher limit of cash withdrawal, he or she can ask for a higher variant card.