A new and closely watched amendment prohibiting bank ATM fees for cash withdrawals comes into effect on Aug. 11, after a relevant draft bill was ratified in Parliament.

The measure came in the wake of sharp criticism of a Greek systemic bank’s recent sell-off of a large portion of its ATMs – approximately 850 – to another company in which the former holds a minority share. The company that purchased the network intended to charge fees and commissions to the same bank’s customers who previously conducted transactions for free.

The same measure envisions free transactions in municipal entities where only one ATM is available, regardless of whether it belongs to a bank’s network or a third-party provider.

Finally, a ceiling of 1.5 euros is imposed on cash withdrawals from ATMs belonging to non-bank entities.