Husband cannot use Wife’s ATM, Court gives order in favor of SBI

The Bangalore IVth Additional District Consumer Disputes Forum recently upheld the State Bank of India’s policy, asserting that a spouse cannot use the other’s debit card for transactions. This decision was the outcome of a prolonged legal case initiated by a woman from Bengaluru, who had requested her husband to withdraw money from her account using her SBI debit card.

What is the case?

In November 2013, Vandana, residing in Marathahalli, gave her SBI debit card and PIN to her husband, Rajesh Kumar, for an ATM withdrawal of Rs. 25,000. Despite receiving a debit confirmation slip, no cash was dispensed by the ATM.

Subsequent inquiries with SBI led to the bank citing the rule that an “ATM card is non-transferable and should not be used by anybody other than the account holder.” The bank refused any claims, asserting that since the husband used the debit card on behalf of the account holder, no claim requests could be entertained.

Vandana, determined to prove her case, obtained CCTV footage showing that her husband did not receive the cash. However, the bank dismissed the case, pointing out that the cardholder was not visible in the footage.

Utilizing the Right to Information (RTI) Act, Vandana acquired the cash verification report for the transaction day, indicating an excess of Rs. 25,000. Despite this evidence, SBI presented a counter report stating no excess cash was found. Even the Banking Ombudsman’s office closed the case, declaring ‘PIN shared, case closed.’

On October 21, 2014, Vandana approached the Bangalore IVth Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, seeking a refund for the lost money in the transaction. She explained that, having recently delivered a baby, she couldn’t leave home and had entrusted her husband with the withdrawal.

After 3.5 years, in May 2018, the court ruled in favor of SBI, emphasizing that Vandana “should have given a self-cheque or an authorization letter to her husband for withdrawal of Rs 25,000, instead of sharing the PIN and making him withdraw the money.”