Two more banks in Shenzhen raised the daily withdrawal limit of automated teller machines (ATMs) to 20,000 yuan (US$2,597) Thursday, a day after China Construction Bank (CCB) raised the daily limit to that amount, in line with an official notice from the central bank.

Bank of Communications (BoCom) and China CITIC Bank became the latest banks to raise the ceiling to 20,000 yuan Thursday. However, BoCom still kept the limit for each withdrawal to 2,000 yuan, while CITIC Bank raised it to 5,000 yuan.

Two other banks, namely Shenzhen Commercial Bank (SCB) and Shenzhen Development Bank (SDB), will raise the daily withdrawal amount to 20,000 yuan this week. SDB will raise the maximum amount for each withdrawal to 3,000 yuan, and SCB will raise it to 5,000 yuan.

The new limit will help cardholders avoid the queues in front of bank counters. But because some banks have set the maximum amount of each withdrawal at 2,000 yuan, their cardholders will require 10 withdrawals to take out a total sum of 20,000 yuan.

A CCB customer surnamed Du said she felt embarrassed while withdrawing money from an ATM at the Zhenhua Road branch of the bank.

"I took 2,000 yuan each time, and then count the money before putting in the card for another withdrawal. It took me 10 minutes to finish the whole transaction," Du said.

Others fear they will suffer heavier losses if their bank cards are stolen or lost. "The longer the time you spend in front of the ATM, the more risk you will experience after the card is lost or stolen," a man surnamed Zhang said in an interview.

Editor: Yan