What Happens Behind the Scenes When You Withdraw Cash From an ATM?

You insert your card into an ATM, enter your PIN, request ₹5,000 and wait. Within seconds, the machine either counts out the cash or politely tells you that the transaction cannot be completed. But the ATM itself does not usually know how much money is sitting in your bank account. It has to ask the bank. That simple cash withdrawal triggers a rapid exchange of information between the ATM, its acquiring bank, a card network or payment switch, and the bank that issued your card. The fascinating part is that most of this happens before you even hear the first notes being counted.