After a gap of almost five years, the country’s largest lender, State Bank of India, has come up with new rules for its savings and salary account holders. The new rules have been implemented from 1st June, 2017.
Here are the changes to the existing rules that you should know about.
How much minimum balance do I need to maintain in my account?
The bank has increased the Monthly Average Balance (MAB) requirement for Savings Accounts to as much as Rs. 5,000 for branches in metro cities. For urban, semi-urban and rural areas it has been fixed at Rs. 3,000, Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 1,000, respectively.
Earlier, the MAB for a Savings Bank Account was capped at Rs. 500 without cheque book facility and Rs. 1,000 with cheque book facility. This was consistent across the country. However, the bank has now decided to fix separate MABs for metro, urban, semi-urban and rural areas from the beginning of this financial year.
Additional Reading: Cheque-mate? Demystifying Different Types Of Cheques
Am I liable to pay any charges if I don’t have the required amount?
In case you fail to maintain the monthly balance limit, the bank will charge a penalty fee of Rs. 100 for metro cities, Rs. 50 for semi-urban and Rs. 20 for rural areas. However, such penalties are not applicable to Surabhi, Basic Savings Bank and PM Jan Dhan Yojana accounts.
What are the new charges on cash withdrawals at ATMs?
All cash withdrawals from ATMs will now attract a charge of Rs. 25 per transaction. Only the RuPay Classic card will be issued for free.
Additional Reading: ATM Usage And You
If the number of transactions exceeds four in a month, the service charges applicable will be Rs. 50 plus service tax per transaction at the branch, Rs. 20 plus service tax at other bank ATMs, and Rs. 10 plus service tax for SBI ATMs.
However, the limit of four ATM withdrawals in a month only applies to the basic savings bank deposit accounts and the Jan Dhan accounts. For other Savings Bank Accounts, the limit is capped at eight free ATM transactions i.e. five SBI ATMs and three other bank ATMs in metros and 10 free transactions in non-metros (five SBI ATMs and five other bank ATMs) apart from the bank transaction.
Cash withdrawal of up to Rs. 2,000 (multiples of 100) through any banking correspondent will be charged at 2.50% of the transaction value (minimum of Rs. 6) plus service tax.
However, SBI will not levy any charge on withdrawals from its own ATMs if the balance exceeds Rs. 25,000. In case of withdrawals from other bank ATMs, there will be no penalty if the balance exceeds Rs. 1 lakh. The aim of this move is to compensate for operational costs incurred while managing Jan Dhan accounts and operating ATMs.
Additional Reading: ATM Didn’t Dispense Cash? Account Debited? Do This.
What are the charges for depositing cash in my account?
You are allowed to deposit cash in your Savings Bank Account three times a month, free of charge. Post that, a fee of Rs. 50 plus service charge will be levied on every transaction.
Cash deposits of up to Rs. 10,000 (in multiples of 100) through a banking correspondent will be charged at 0.25% of the total value with a minimum applicable charge of Rs. 2 and a maximum charge of Rs. 8, excluding service tax.
What about State Bank ‘Buddy’ wallet customers?
The ‘Buddy’ is an online wallet facility provided by SBI. This can be used to send or receive money from any of your contacts even if you don’t have an SBI account. You can download this on your mobile and use it as a mobile wallet. This facility will now attract service charges as follows:
- Cash withdrawal from your wallet balance through ATM will be charged at Rs. 25 per transaction
- Cash deposit into the wallet through Business Correspondent (BC) will be charged at 0.25% of transaction value for amounts up to Rs. 10,000 which are in multiples of 100 or a minimum charge of Rs. 2 and a maximum charge of Rs. 8 excluding service tax.
- Cash withdrawals from the wallet balance through BC will be charged at 2.50% of the transaction value for amounts up to Rs. 2,000 in multiples of 100 or a minimum of Rs. 6 plus service tax.
Additional Reading: How To Use A Cash Deposit Machine
Are there any other charges that I should be aware of?
Yes, there are a couple of other charges that you should make note of before availing SBI’s banking services.
Additional Reading: Want To Avoid Those Extra ATM Charges? Try These
Online Transfers: IMPS fund transfer charges via internet banking/UPI/IUSSD will now be charged at Rs. 5 for amounts up to Rs. 1 lakh, Rs. 15 for amounts above Rs. 1 lakh and up to Rs. 2 lakhs, and Rs. 25 for amounts above Rs. 2 lakhs and up to Rs. 5 lakhs. Keep in mind that these charges don’t include service tax.
Account Closure Charges: Up to 14 days of opening the SBI Savings Account, the bank will not charge you any fee but post that a fee of Rs. 500 plus service tax will be charged for individuals, and for a company or non-individuals, the bank will charge a fee of Rs. 1,000 plus service tax.
Increased Locker Rent: The bank has increased locker rent and reduced the number of locker transactions that are free in a year. After 12 transactions, the customer will now have to pay Rs. 100 excluding service tax for visiting his or her locker.
Additional Reading: Digital Lockers: A Safe And Secure Place To Store Your Financial Documents
Cheque Leafs: As far as cheque books are concerned, the first 50 cheques will be provided free in a financial year for a current account holder. Thereafter, it will cost Rs. 3 per leaf. A 10-leaf cheque book will cost Rs. 30, a 25-leaf cheque book will cost Rs. 75 and a 50-leaf cheque book will set you back by Rs. 150 excluding service tax.
Exchange of Soiled Notes: Service charges for the exchange of soiled or imperfect notes up to 20 pieces and with a value of Rs. 5,000, will extract no charge. For more than 20 pieces, Rs. 2 per piece will be charged on the entire tender excluding service tax.
For values above Rs. 5,000, Rs. 2 per piece or Rs. 5 per Rs. 1,000 plus service tax, whichever is higher on the entire order, will be charged.
Enrolment Fee: SBI will now charge Rs. 20 as an opening fee including enrolment for a Savings Account.
SMS Alerts: The bank will charge Rs. 15 for SMS alerts per quarter for Debit Card holders who maintain an average quarterly balance of up to Rs. 25,000 during the three-month period. Also, there will be no charge for UPI/ USSD transactions of up to Rs. 1,000.
Additional Reading: The Next In-Thing: SMS Banking
Even customers of the six affiliate banks that merged with SBI, including State Bank of Jaipur and Bikaner, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore, will have to follow these rules. So, if you have a bank account with any of these banks, brace yourself. You might have to shell out a little extra from this financial year.
Now that you know all about the new SBI guidelines, how about exploring our amazing Credit Cards and loan offers?
SBI bank is one of the biggest banks in India But its service is very poor. I lost my debit card and apply for new one but still not receive.
Hi MK,
We’re sorry to here this, Try getting in touch with SBI through their phonebanking facility. They should be able to help you out.
Cheers,
Team BankBazaar
Dear Team BankBazaar
Are transactions that have failed (due to insufficient balance in ATM) counted in the 3/5 free transactions? If so why dont banks like SBI display ” insufficient funds”. This is being done by other banks .
Hi Sankaran M S,
As far as we know, failed transactions do not count. We suggest that you contact your bank in case you feel that a failed transaction has been included in your ATM limit for the month.
Cheers,
Team BankBazaar
What about if i close my saving account of sbi?
Hi Nisha,
At the moment there are no new rules pertaining to the closing of an SBI account. We kindly request you to follow SBI’s regular account closing procedure.
Cheers,
Team BankBazaar
What will be happend if we does not withdraw money for 4years from sbi bank. ..
Hi Sujit, Your account will be considered inactive if there are no transactions for 12 months. Even post that period, if there are no transactions, it will be re-classified as a dormant account. Post this, your bank will impose restrictions on your account. These restrictions vary from bank to bank. Kindly check with your bank about this. Cheers, Team BankBazaar
This new rule is so not good.what about the students and poor people and those who don’t earn most.SBI was best but it seems it is becoming a bit like private banks across india. This new rules will or maybe make account holder close their SBI accounts permanently
Hi Bobo Ligu,
We’re sorry you feel this way. However, you do have the option to migrate your account to another bank if you choose to.
Cheers,
Team BankBazaar
I am also a student…So these rules are not preferable for us…How can we manage our account.. whenever we depends upon to SBI and feel to save our money at SBI ….So , suggest me what shall I do for that..I am not earning yet..!!!
Hi AMIT PANDA,
We are sorry you feel this way. You can choose to move your account to another bank.
Cheers,
Team BankBazaar
SBI services are very poor.Regular staff often on leave.No prior arrangements are made to tackle the problem of customers.Who are responsible for these poor services.Merely increasing service charge is not a solution to the problem.First of all revamp your staff and their attitude.
Hi Hanif Khan,
While we certainly empathise with you, we kindly request you to contact the SBI branch or branches you deal with directly and share your grievances with them.
Cheers,
Team BankBazaar
After 30th June, will SBT a/c holders get new cheque book automatically or have to order one.
Hi Joshi,
We kindly request you to get in touch with your bank regarding this.
Cheers,
Team BankBazaar
You have missed one huge point while explaining various revised charges levied by State Bank of India wef 01.04.2017. a) SBI HAS ARBITRARILY STARTED A/C CLOSING CHARGES IN SAVINGS BANK ACCOUNT TOO. I UNDERSTAND THE AMOUNT IS CLOSE TO Rs.600.00. It appears that the bank will not let one close the account if one is not willing to maintain the SB account. Pl.inform RBI.
Hi ABHIJIT SANYAL, Thanks for the information. Almost all banks charge fees for closing your savings account. This is an age old practice. It is true that SBI has started imposing account closure charges if you close your account within a certain period. Our article has been updated with the charges. Please do check.
1. What if I simply abandon my SB account after transferring all the balance to another non-SBI account? Is that ok or even legal? Will I be in trouble since the banks have my PAN & now Aadhar also?
2. How is the minimum balance calculated? Can I use the 5000 ₹ throughout the month & top it up in the end on salary day?
3. I’ve been paying the yearly premium of the mandatory insurance that SBI sticks to every account holder’s bum. Should I stop it if I already am insured by my employer? Does the nominee get the amounts from ALL the schemes in which the insured was registered??
Hi there,
To answer your queries:
1. If you transfer all your funds and keep your account active, i.e without closing it down, then SBI will charge you for non-maintenance of account balance.
2. This varies from bank to bank. Please check with SBI on what their terms are.
3. Again, you will have to get this clarified with SBI as we do not have information on insurance linked to their bank accounts.
Have a nice day!
Cheers,
Team BankBazaar
The charges should be termed as dictatorial charges rather than being considered as service charges, as keeping one’s money in the bank is compulsory now.
Where is the option to keep your hard earned money.
All terms and conditions are mandatory (one sided, without any day by the public).
Hi Beharilal Eshpuniyani,
Sorry that you feel this way. If you think SBI is being unreasonable with their new charges, you can opt out and look for other Savings Accounts to park your money in.
Cheers,
Team BankBazaar
Hellow Sir, I am private computer operator and earning Rs.25000/- p.m., but I have been maintaining money to my needs by hand, now I am intending to open a new SB account with SBI by depositing Rs.25,000/- immediately and need a credit and debit cards apart to passbook and cheque book , is it possible in SBI or any other bank, please clarify.
Hi Srinivasulu Mudumba,
Yes absolutely! You can open a Savings Account with any bank. You can also get Credit and Debit cards.
Cheers,
Team BankBazaar
SBI is worst Bank in India as though they are thinking they are only super bank, the charges they levy for not maintaining MBA, is worst, their service is also worst, I think they are enjoying life with customers money
Hi Raja rathanam,
We’re so sorry you feel this way. If you think SBI is being unreasonable you can always switch to another bank.
Cheers,
Team BankBazaar
There is a branch in Bangalore(Manyata Embassy business park branch) which has proper office set up, and staffs. They are not accepting cash deposits since cash deposit machine is there in their premises. Is there any hard and fast rule, that bank will not accept cash deposit if there is a machine available and the employee is talking rude even. Please clarify
Hi Rajeswari, We’re sorry to hear about this. It’s mandatory for a bank that has a cash deposit machine to accept cash from its customers. You can try depositing your money in another branch or escalate this matter to the relevant authority, namely one that looks after the Grievance Redressal Mechanism in SBI. Cheers, Team BankBazaar.
SBI monthly debited money means what doing non salaried person,poor peoples and students. any alternative solution for this?
Hi Bhuvana, You can choose a no balance Savings Account if you think maintaining a monthly balance will be an issue. Click here to get a Savings Account. Cheers,Team BankBazaar.
I have pardhanmantary jan dhan yojna account
than there is require to maintain monthly balance?
nd if i deposit money after a year than any penalty etc.?
how much money bank deduct from my account?
Hi Savneet, There is no minimum balance requirement for Jan Dhan Yojana account. Cheers, Team BankBazaar
Thanku
Hi Savneet, You’re welcome. Cheers, Team BankBazaar
I am a senior citizen and have SB account n SBI and not applied for ATM card and not interested in using the debit card. Is it mandatory to use debit card, otherwise is there any penalty for it.
Hi Krishna murthy,
There is no mandate on the usage of a Debit Card. However, we think that a Debit Card is just conveient if you need cash during non-banking hours.
Cheers,
Team BankBazaar