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Imagine you are on an online shopping spree. You zero-in on that one mobile handset that you've been wanting to buy for some days. The specs are perfect, the deal is good, all is well. You promptly select the handset, make the payment, there occurs a small glitch. The shopping website tells you that the transaction failed.
No issues, you think and proceed to make the payment again.
And at this time, you realise that money has already been deducted from your bank account.
It's a major pain when this happens. Same is the case when you try to withdraw money, only for it to just get deducted from your account without notes being tendered. These 'failed transactions' can cause major problems and, if the amount is big, may have life-altering consequences. A failed transaction is any transaction which could not be completed due to a fault not attributed to the customer.
Enter RBI:
The Reserve Bank of India has stepped in to provide relief to the customers.
The new guidelines released by the RBI have defined the new turnaround time for such failed transactions.
No Money? No Problem:
If an ATM machine does not tender money and amount gets deducted from your account then your bank or financial institution will have 5 days to sort out the issue failing which a fine of Rs 100 per day will be chargeable till the matter is sorted out. This amount will be credited in your account. RBI guidelines say that the same method will be applicable in case of micro-ATMs.
Similarly, at PoS (Point of Sale) transaction, that is, card-swiping at a shop, if the amount is deducted from your account but confirmation is not sent to the merchant (slip is not printed), the bank will have to auto-reverse the amount in 5 days. If this doesn't happen, a fine of Rs 100 per day will be levied on the bank.
Similar method is applied for failed transaction at an e-commerce website. A failed transaction will attract a fine of Rs 100 per day beyond 5-day-window given to the bank to solve the matter.
