Banksare awaiting directives as well as assurance from the Central Bank before restoring withdrawal limits, fearing they could lose more money in the ATM scam.
While some banks gradually increased the withdrawal limits on their own, others are unwilling to take the risk unless they feel secure from the fraud.
"We have not received formal instructions from the Central Bank yet to restore withdrawal limits. We are waiting to see the memo and then take a decision because it is risky to restore the withdrawal limits until the problem is solved," a senior banker of a local bank told Gulf News yesterday.
On Monday, the Central Bank in a statement to the media said it had directed banks to return customers' funds lost in the scam and restore withdrawal limits.
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (Adib) has decided to increase the withdrawal limits significantly but not fully.
After news of the ATM scam broke out, Adib reduced the withdrawal limit to Dh1,000 from Dh5,000 per day. However, starting yesterday, Adib decided to increase the withdrawal limit to Dh4,000 per day from the ATM and Dh4,000 per day from the point of sale machine, said a senior official.
"We did not receive the circular from the Central Bank but took a decision to enhance the withdrawal limit based on our customers' needs. We will gradually increase the withdrawal limit."
A senior banker from the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) also confirmed that the bank has yet to receive the official circular from the Central Bank about restoring withdrawal limits.
"But we decided to increase it gradually and are thinking seriously of restoring it to normal levels soon." After reducing the daily withdrawal limit from Dh10,000 and Dh5,000 to Dh1,000, NBAD increased the limit to Dh4,000 and Dh2,000 respectively.
Adib has taken internal measures such as changing PIN codes, replacing ATM cards and is constantly monitoring every transaction.
Meanwhile, some banks hit by the scam have returned customers' funds that were lost in the scam, and others are in the process of doing so.
"We have not raised the withdrawal limit yet but on customers' requests, the bank will do it," said an official of af large Dubai-based local bank. "Our withdrawal limit for customers was reduced to Dh2,000 a day from Dh10,000 and this continues," he added.
The bank has also paid compensation to some customers who lost money in the scam and is in the process of paying some others.
Gulf News
