Credit card to bank transfer and cash withdrawal: what it really costs

How much does it cost to withdraw cash from a credit card?

Three charges apply: a fee on the amount, interest from the day you take the cash, and 18% GST on both. On standard cards, HDFC, SBI Card, ICICI, Axis, Kotak and RBL charge 2.5% with a Rs 500 minimum. Canara Bank charges 3% with a Rs 150 minimum.

The minimum bites on small amounts. Axis Bank's MITC shows a Rs 4,000 withdrawal paying the Rs 500 minimum, which is 12.5% of the cash. The minimum applies to each withdrawal, so two small withdrawals pay it twice.

The ATM may add its own charge. Axis and Canara both warn of this, and neither gives an amount. Find your bank's fee below, and see every charge on your own card in My Cards.

529 of 562 open cards, from 37 banks. 33 open cards have no figure here because we did not find one. Rows marked Not confirmed are figures we could not check against the issuer document, so check with the bank.

What does Rs 20,000 for 30 days cost?

About Rs 1,463 at 3.75% a month at HDFC, ICICI, Axis and Kotak, which is 7.3% of the cash for one month. SBI Card costs about Rs 2,053, because its Rs 15,000 daily ATM cap means two withdrawals and two fees. That holds only if no payment due date passes unpaid in those 30 days, because a missed minimum adds a late fee.

An example. You take Rs 20,000 and repay it 30 days later. The fee is 2.5% of Rs 20,000, which is Rs 500. Interest is Rs 20,000 x 3.75% x 30 x 12 / 365, which is Rs 739.73. Axis and Kotak print this formula in their MITCs. GST at 18% on Rs 1,239.73 is Rs 223.15. The total cost is Rs 1,462.88, so you repay Rs 21,462.88.

Standard unsecured cards, no other balance, read from each bank's document. SBI Card caps ATM cash at Rs 15,000 a day, so Rs 20,000 takes two withdrawals, each with its own Rs 500 minimum. Interest assumes each amount is held 30 days. RBL's row uses its 3.99% maximum, for a bureau score below 725. Its MITC sets 3.35% a month above 775 (total Rs 1,369.77) and 3.85% for 725 to 775 (total Rs 1,486.15). Canara uses 0.0833% a day, as in its own illustration, which charges interest from the transaction date. Its MITC also says its 20 to 50 day interest-free period applies to cash withdrawals, so ask Canara which applies. Some cards run lower: 2.75% on secured SBI cards, 3.5% on some Kotak cards. Axis quotes 3.75% a month as 55.55% a year; HDFC, SBI, ICICI and Kotak quote it as 45%. The formula uses the monthly rate.

Is there an interest-free period on cash withdrawals?

No, on most cards. Interest runs from the date of withdrawal until you repay in full, so clearing the whole bill by the due date does not cancel it, and SBI Card's schedule of charges lists the free credit period on cash advances as nil. A few cards do give interest-free days, among them IDFC FIRST Millennia and FIRST WOW, for up to 45 days if you have no earlier dues and pay in full by the due date.

HDFC's MITC, updated 29 October 2026, and RBL's MITC both say the interest-free period is not applicable if the cardholder has taken cash from an ATM. HDFC's adds that a cash advance brings a finance charge on balances carried forward and on fresh billings, so a withdrawal may cost interest on purchases too. RBL's does not spell out the effect on purchases, so ask RBL before you withdraw.

If I pay part of the bill, does the cash get cleared first?

It depends on the bank. Axis and SBI Card apply a payment to purchases before cash advances, while HDFC and Kotak apply it to cash advances before purchases. At Axis and SBI Card, a part payment can leave the cash unpaid and still running interest.

Paying only the minimum keeps interest running on the cash at any of these banks. See the guides to the minimum amount due and late payment charges.

How much cash can I take out?

Only up to your cash limit, which is part of your credit limit and appears on your monthly statement. HDFC, SBI Card and Kotak say add-on cards share the primary card's limits.

Some cards have no cash facility at all. HDFC excludes the Paytm HDFC Bank Digital Credit Card and the Micro Enterprise Card. Kotak excludes Cashback+, Cashback+ Prime and UPI RuPay Virtual. SBI Card allocates no cash limit on Krishak Unnati.

Read from each bank's MITC. Your statement shows the figure that applies to you.

Can I transfer money from my credit card to my bank account?

Some banks we read offer this as their own product: a funds transfer charged as a cash advance, or a loan on the card repaid in EMIs. Kotak's funds transfer costs what an ATM withdrawal costs, and it is for the primary cardholder only, to their own Kotak account. Where a loan rate is published, as at Axis and, as a starting rate, at ICICI, it is lower than the cash rate, but a loan adds a processing fee and an early closure fee.

These loans are selective. SBI Card calls Encash pre-approved for a select set of cardholders, and Axis and ICICI decide eligibility themselves. ICICI's terms also bar using its loan for the capital market or to repay your ICICI card dues.

An example. Take Rs 20,000 on the Axis Instant Loan. The processing fee is Rs 500 plus Rs 90 GST. At the top rate of 21% a year, 30 days of interest is about Rs 345, against Rs 739.73 on an ATM withdrawal. But the tenure starts at 12 months, and closing early costs 3% of the principal left, which is Rs 600 plus Rs 108 GST. Closed after 30 days, that is about Rs 1,643 before any GST on interest, against about Rs 1,463 for ATM cash.

Read on 31 October 2026. We did not check this product at other banks, so a bank missing here may still offer one. The rate you get is the one in your own offer.

Is it safe to use an app or payment service to move card money to my bank?

The bank documents we read treat it as a risk to your card. Axis and ICICI both say their periodic usage checks look for fund transfers to savings accounts, and both say the bank may cancel the card and withhold or cancel your points without notice.

It may also cost what cash costs. RBL's MITC applies its cash advance fee to the merchant categories for quasi cash and money transfer. Ask your bank how it treats them. Any fee a service charges comes on top, and you still owe the bank the full amount.

Which cards charge less for cash?

A short list of cards waive or cut the fee, and interest usually still applies. IDFC FIRST Bank goes further on FIRST Millennia and on FIRST WOW, a card against a fixed deposit: Rs 199 plus GST a withdrawal and 0% interest on ATM cash for up to 45 days, if you have no earlier dues and pay the total due by the due date.

HDFC's MITC excludes Infinia and Infinia Metal Edition from its 2.5% fee and names no separate fee, so confirm with HDFC. Axis waives it on Burgundy Private, Reserve, Magnus, Magnus for Burgundy and Primus. ICICI charges nil on Emeralde, Emeralde Private, Emeralde Private Metal, Times Black and 1838 Reserve. Axis Olympus is 2% with a Rs 300 minimum. Kotak Solitaire is 1%. Kotak Dream Different is Rs 100 a time. Kotak's MITC shows the same Rs 100 for 811 Super Money, but its Key Fact Statement says cash advances are not available, so check with Kotak.

Axis levies no interest on cash until the due date on Burgundy Private. Kotak's cardholder terms give the same on Solitaire and Fortune, if you pay in full by the due date. On Dream Different, the cardholder terms list it as interest-free but the Key Fact Statement charges interest from the transaction date, so ask Kotak.

IDFC FIRST Bank's MITC sets the Rs 199 fee, Rs 234.82 with GST, across its cards except FIRST Digital RuPay, where cash advance does not apply, and its illustration shows nil interest on an ATM withdrawal on those terms. The 45 days is on the Millennia and WOW pages, so check your own card's page. Millennia allows Rs 10,000 a transaction, so Rs 20,000 takes two fees, Rs 469.64.

A waived fee does not mean free. Axis Magnus has its fee waived but charges 3% a month, so Rs 20,000 for 30 days still costs Rs 698.30 with GST.

Does a cash withdrawal earn reward points?

On the cards we checked, no. ICICI's MITC says no reward points are given in the cash category, and IDFC FIRST Bank says rewards do not apply to cash withdrawals on FIRST WOW.

It may not count toward fee waivers either. Axis's MITC excludes cash withdrawals from the spend threshold for annual fee reversal on the cards that clause names.