Payment Service Provider (PSP) 1Link has clarified that the fee being charged on receipts after withdrawing cash from ATMs is a part of Go Green exercise to ‘reduce litter’ and to ‘lower the cost of printed receipts’, which users can opt out of by not operating the machine to produce the receipt.
Earlier on Wednesday, customers of various banks had reported being charged Rs2.5 for choosing to receive the receipt. They were later sent a text message, citing that the amount had been deducted.
“In response to various queries being initiated regarding ATM transaction receipts, please note that this is an optional service by banks customers are getting a choice to opt for a physical receipt charged at PKR 2.50 or to get free of cost information through SMS,” 1Link said in a statement.
The letter further stated that discouraging printing receipts would help mitigate chances of ‘sensitive customer information’ being shared with strangers as the receipts are littered around.
It may be noted that 1Link is the consortium of major banks that own and operate the largest representative interbank network in Pakistan.
“This initiative is part of a ‘Go-Green’ exercise to reduce litter and lower the cost of printed proceeds which are usually discarded immediately. In addition, sensitive customer information is left for others to peruse”.
The statement added that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has not mandated this and has entirely left the customers to choose a charge receipt or get free electronic confirmation.
Meanwhile, Habib Bank Limited (HBL), one of the largest bank in the country also confirmed the same on its official Twitter account.
HBL confirms that the State Bank of Pakistan has not given any instructions on charging for printing of ATM receipts. This is a “GO GREEN” initiative by 1Link to encourage customers to avoid unnecessary use of paper and keep the environment clean. @statebank_pak @GovtofPakistan pic.twitter.com/ms1JM5yS1Y
— HBL (@HBLPak) February 10, 2021
