Cash deposits, withdrawals beyond a limit to cost Rs 50 plus service tax

Depositing and withdrawing cash to/from your account will cost you money if you do it through bank branches.

And if you thought electronic payment using debit cards is free, think again. You will end up paying for this too.

Any cash deposit or withdrawal through branches or even electronic transaction using internet banking, which until now was free or nominally charged, will invite higher charges.

While some banks were already charging fees for depositing cash into branches, the charges are steeper now at Rs 150 plus service tax. For the State Bank of India (SBI), these charges are much lower at Rs 50 plus service tax. Public sector banks are likely to keep it at these levels.

Both private and public sector banks have put restrictions on cash withdrawals and cash deposits. SBI, India's largest lender, has also set up cash withdrawal and cash deposit charges of Rs 50 plus service tax.

SBI has linked the number of free cash transactions in the bank branches to the account balance. It has allowed two free withdrawals from branches for accounts with a balance of Rs 1,000-25,000. Beyond this, every cash transaction will be charged at the rate of Rs 50 plus service tax. There will be restrictions on the usage of debit card on internet transactions as well for account balances of Rs 1,000-25,000. Only 40 internet transactions are free using a debit card in a month in this category of accounts.

Rajnish Kumar, managing director, national banking group, SBI, told DNA Money, "Our cost of cash withdrawals and deposits are only a fraction of what some of the private sector banks are charging their customers. We don't expect a savings bank account holder to go for more than these number of transactions, both from branches and on the internet."

If you have an account balance of Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000, then the number of free cash withdrawals are capped at 10 and the customer can use unlimited internet transactions using the debit card. Unlimited free withdrawals are allowed only if you maintain an account balance of Rs 1 lakh.

The maximum limit for deposit of cash at the non-home branch is Rs 2 lakh per day. Thereafter, branch manager of the non-home branch is vested with powers to accept more cash for current account holders.

In SBI branches, you will be allowed three cash deposits free of charge. Beyond three, excluding the alternate channels, deposits will cost you Rs 50 plus service tax. Cash withdrawals from other bank ATMs will be free for five times in rural and semi-urban areas in a month and three transactions in metro areas.

From the fourth transaction, cash withdrawals from ATMs in urban areas will be charged at the rate of Rs 20. Own bank ATMs, irrespective of their location, will be free for the first five transactions. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank said they would allow up to four transactions from the home branch free of cost, but the customer has to pay an amount of Rs 150 for every additional transaction.

Axis Bank is offering five cash transactions (at the branch) free of charge, beyond which, every transaction (deposit and withdrawal) is pegged at Rs 95 along with taxes. The private banks will allow customers to withdraw or deposit up to Rs 2 lakh from their savings or salary accounts through the home branch during the month. Transaction exceeding this amount will be charged with Rs 5 per Rs 1,000, with a minimum amount of Rs 150. Earlier, this limit was up to Rs 50,000. In the case of non-home branches, daily transactions up to Rs 25,000 are non-chargeable, but above this, a charge of Rs 5 per Rs 1,000 or a minimum amount of Rs 150 is applicable.

However, senior citizens and children will not be charged any amount.