The State Bank of India has revised its service charges for ATM services as well as deposits and withdrawal. The revised charges come into effect on October 1. A significant change is that the bank has completely done away with monthly limits on Internet and mobile banking transactions. Now, SBI customers can enjoy unlimited such transactions, instead of a maximum of 40 for those with savings account balance of up to Rs 25,000 in the previous month.
Here's a detailed look at what SBI customers have in store from next month:
Average Monthly Balance requirement
The country's largest lender has reduced the average monthly balance (AMB) for urban centers from Rs 5,000 to Rs 3,000. Under the revised rule, if someone does not maintain Rs 3,000 as AMB in a savings bank account and falls short by 50 per cent (that is Rs 1,500), the customer will be charged Rs 10 plus GST. If the account holder falls short by more than 75 per cent, a penalty of Rs 15 plus GST will be imposed. Till last April, the changes for non-maintenance of AMB in savings accounts stood much higher, at Rs 30-50 plus tax depending on the shortfall.
In semi-urban branches, SBI account holder needs to maintain an AMB of Rs 2,000, while the same in rural branches is Rs 1,000.
Fund transfer charges
While online National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions are free, conducting such fund transfers at a bank branch will incur a fee. For the record, while the RTGS system is primarily meant for large value transactions, with the minimum cap set at Rs 2 lakh, NEFT is for smaller amounts.
Deposits and withdrawals
Cash deposits in savings account will be free for up to 3 transactions in a month. After that, the account holder will be charged Rs 50 plus GST for every transaction. Maximum limit for deposit of cash at non-home branch is Rs 2 lakh per day. Thereafter, non-home branch manager gets to decide if the bank can accept more cash.
Meanwhile, account holders with an AMB of Rs 25,000 can avail of two free cash withdrawals per month, while those with AMB in the Rs 25,000 - 50,000 bracket get 10 free cash withdrawals. There is no such cap for customers with AMB of above Rs 1 lakh, but those in the Rs 50,000-1 lakh bracket will get 15 free cash withdrawals. The charge for transactions beyond the free limit stands at Rs 50 plus GST.
Free ATM transactions
Customers with AMB of up to Rs 25,000 in their savings accounts, will enjoy five free transactions at SBI ATMs, covering both financial and non-financial transactions. There is no cap for those with a higher AMB. In addition, all customers in non-metro cities can avail five free transactions at other banks' ATMs. The ceiling for customers in the metros - namely Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad - is three free transactions at non-SBI ATMs.
Financial transactions beyond the above mentioned limits will cost Rs 10 plus GST at SBI's ATMs and double that at other lenders' machines. Non-financial transactions will cost Rs 5-8 plus GST depending on the ATM used. This covers services such as balance enquiry, placing a cheque book request, payment of taxes and funds transfers.
Moreover, declined transactions due insufficient balance will still incur a fee of Rs 20 plus GST.
Inter-changeability option
SBI also allows one way inter-changeability between branch and ATM transactions. This means that a customer with AMB of up to Rs 25,000 will be allowed a maximum of 10 free debit transactions at the metro cities provided they stick to bank owned ATMs and do not avail of the two free cash withdrawal transactions at a branch. Similarly, those in the non-metros can enjoy up to 12 free debit transactions.
Charges for getting a debit card
Not all debit cards offered by the bank come free of charge. SBI charges Rs 100 for issuing a Gold Debit Card and Rs 300 for the platinum one, not including GST. In addition, if your ATM card or kit is returned by the courier due to wrong address submission, you will have to shell out a little over Rs 100.
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