In a statement, Saifuddin, who is also Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP, said banks should continue to cover the cost.

“The whole country knows that banks are among the sectors that have reported healthy profits despite the pandemic and lockdowns,” he said.

“There are other ways to ensure that banks can cover the cost of ATM charges.”

He said many middle-income (M40) households have fallen into the lower-income group (B40). Many were unemployed and prices of goods have gone up.

Saifuddin urged the finance ministry to immediately intervene and instruct the banks to cancel the reinstatement of the RM1 charge on interbank withdrawals.

It was earlier reported that the RM1 fee for interbank ATM withdrawals would be revived from Feb 1.

Maybank, CIMB, Citibank and HSBC are among the banks that have made an official announcement on the issue.

The government introduced the waiver on the RM1 feel from April 6, 2020, three weeks after the start of the first movement control order (MCO) in March last year.

The move was to allow people to withdraw cash at the nearest ATM under the MEPS system without having to pay the RM1 charge.