KUALA LUMPUR — In a major consumer-centric shift, all commercial and financial institutions in Malaysia have announced the complete abolition of interbank cash withdrawal fees at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Smart Recycler Machines (SRMs) nationwide, effective July 1, 2026.
Under the new directive, retail bank customers and debit cardholders will no longer be charged the standard RM1 fee when withdrawing cash from an ATM or SRM operated by a different bank. The sweeping policy modification grants consumers access to unlimited, fee-free cash withdrawals across a massive national network of more than 14,000 machines.
The structural policy change was confirmed through a joint statement issued on Wednesday by the country’s primary financial councils: the Association of Banks in Malaysia, the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia, and the Association of Development Finance Institutions of Malaysia. The regulatory bodies emphasized that while the country continues to witness rapid adoption of secure digital and cashless payment ecosystems, cash remains a vital everyday transactional tool for millions of Malaysians. The removal of the interbank surcharge is intended to directly alleviate the daily financial obligations of the general public (the rakyat) by offering seamless, low-cost access to physical currency.
