Urban and metro customers would have to shell out penalties between Rs 10 to Rs 15 for not maintaining minimum balance
State Bank of India (SBI) has slashed its penalties for not maintaining minimum balance for the second time on Tuesday, this time by 75%, but is still higher than its public sector peers.
Following the footsteps of private sector peers, State Bank of India (SBI) in April last year set up high minimum balance requirements and imposed steep penalties on customers who failed to meet these requirements.
SBI has now slashed penalties to Rs 10 to Rs 15 for urban and metro customers who fail to maintain a minimum balance of Rs 3,000 in a month. That is if the shortfall is less than 50% of the requirement, then the penalty is Rs 10, if the shortfall is between 50% up to 75% it is Rs 12 and above 75% shortfall the penalty will be 15%. GST of Rs 3 will be added to all the penalties. The new rates will be effective from April 1 2018.
Penalties for not maintaining a minimum balance was as high as Rs 100 for urban customers, whose minimum balance fell by 75% on a minimum balance requirement of Rs 5,000 on an average every month.
P K Gupta, MD – retail & digital banking, SBI said in a release, "We have reduced these charges taking into account the feedbacks and sentiments of our customers. Bank has always focused on keeping the interests of its customers first, and this is one of our many efforts towards fulfilling customer expectations. Bank also offers its customers to shift from regular savings bank account to basic savings bank deposit (BSBD) accounts on which no charges are levied."
For its semi-urban customers where the average monthly balance is Rs 2000, the penalties will range from Rs 7.50% to 12% along with GST, depending on the quantum of the shortfall. If the shortfall is less than 50%, then the penalty will be Rs 7.50.
For its rural customers, the average monthly balance is Rs 1,000 and the penalties will start from Rs 5 to Rs 10, depending on how much the shortfall is during the month. For a shortfall of less than 50%, the penalty is Rs 5 for a shortfall of 50 % up to 75% the 7.50% and for a shortfall of over 75% the penalty will be Rs 10. In all the cases GST will be added.
This will benefit 25 crore of the bank's customers. Students up to the age of 21 years, pensioners and other social security are exempt from these charges. The Bank has 41 crore savings bank accounts, out of which 16 crore are under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and the BSBD. Customers are allowed change their accounts to BSBD accounts free of charge, but they will not get a cheque book facility.
SOME RELIEF
- Urban and metro customers would have to shell out penalties between Rs 10 to Rs 15 for not maintaining minimum balance
- For its semi-urban customers where the average monthly balance is Rs 2000, the penalties will range from Rs 7.50% to 12%
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Penalties for not maintaining a minimum balance was as high as Rs 100 for urban customers, whose minimum balance fell by 75% on a minimum balance requirement of Rs 5,000 on an average every month.
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