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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?