AUTOMATED teller machines (ATMs) are meant to facilitate bank account holders. The whole idea is to help them get money even when banks are closed; not only after banking hours, but also on weekends and holidays. Also, banks in Pakistan routinely run advertisements ahead of national holidays, proclaiming with fraudulent pride that their clients could withdraw money from their ATMs across Pakistan during the holidays. Frankly, there could not be a greater falsehood, because most ATMs are not operational on such occasions.

People generally find a notice on the ATM screen, saying it is not operational. Sometimes, there is no such notice, and just when people start counting themselves lucky enough to have finally found a functional ATM, and hastily insert the ATM card, a sign appears on the screen, informing them that there is no cash available, and that they may ‘try later’. Only a fool will believe in the sign and ‘try later’ till the holidays are over and life returns to routine because it is only then that the banks tend to refill the ATMs.

Since the regulator seems not parti-cularly interested in making the banks do what they say they are doing, the legal community should consider whether legal action can be taken against banks making fraudulent claims about ATMs.

An ATM cardholder
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2025