Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said no service charges will be levied on debit card transactions by all public banks and some private banks till December 31. At a media briefing, Das said public sector banks have reported a spike in the usage of digital financial transactions since the demonetisation move.

He also said that 82,000 ATMs have been recalibrated so far to accommodate the new notes launched by the government, and that the remaining ATMs will be recalibrated in the next few days, reported ANI.

Moreover, the Reserve Bank of India has decided to double the money that can be kept in prepaid wallets and cards to Rs 20,000. He said Nabard (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) has sanctioned a Rs 21,000-crore limit to the district central cooperative bank, and the Reserve Bank of India has been told to ensure that the cooperative banks have adequate cash.

Das made the announcements at a press conference held to highlight the steps taken in the past few days to help people tide over the inconveniences caused by the government’s decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the move on November 8, saying the step was being taken to address corruption and black money.

The Centre has been accused of “strangling” cooperative banks by not allowing them to exchange demonetised notes. Moreover, customers are only allowed to withdraw up to Rs 24,000 from their accounts per week till November 24.

On Tuesday, the Kerala Assembly passed a resolution stating that the Centre should recall its restriction on cooperative banks. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told legislators that the rural economy was dependent on cooperative banks and the move had affected farmers the most.