Revised Bank charges: Here’s why and how much you have to pay

Major Indian banks — SBI, ICICI, HDFC, and Axis — have decided to charge users for cash transactions above certain limits and for a few facilities which were free till now. More banks are expected to follow suit. The new charges ‘Bank transaction fee’ are aimed at discouraging cash transactions though banks might end up profiting from them hugely.

Below is what you must know if you have an account in any of these banks:

State Bank of India

1. From April 1, SBI will permit savings bank account holders to deposit cash three times a month free of charge. Beyond that, it will charge Rs 50 plus service tax for every transaction.
2. In a case of a current account, the levy could go as high as Rs 20,000.
3. SBI account holders will also have to keep a minimum balance in their accounts, failing which they will be fined. The fine will be lower for rural areas.
4. In metropolitan areas, there will be a charge of Rs 100 plus service tax if the balance falls below 75 percent of the minimum available balance of Rs 5,000. If the shortfall is 50 percent or less, the bank will charge Rs 50 plus service tax. SBI used to have such charges in 2012.
5. Withdrawal of cash from ATMs will attract a charge of up to Rs 20 if the number of transactions from ATMs of other banks exceeds three and Rs 10 for more than five withdrawals from SBI ATMs.
6. However, SBI will not levy any charge on withdrawals from its own ATMs if the balance exceeds Rs 25,000. In the case of withdrawals from ATMs of other banks, there will be no charge if the balance exceeds Rs 1 lakh.
7. SBI will charge Rs 15 for SMS alerts per quarter from debit card holders who maintain an average quarterly balance of up to Rs 25,000 during the three months. There will be no charge for UPI/USSD transactions of up to Rs 1,000.

HDFC Bank

1. HDFC Bank will levy Rs 150 per transaction, beyond four free ones (deposits and withdrawals) each month.
2. The new charges would apply to savings as well as salary accounts.
3. For home-branch transactions, the bank will allow deposits or withdrawals of up to Rs 2 lakh free of cost at one go per day. Beyond this, it will charge Rs 5 per Rs 1,000, or Rs 150.
4. At non-home branches, transactions beyond Rs 25,000 a day will attract a charge of Rs 5 per Rs 1,000, or Rs 150.

Axis Bank

1.  Axis Bank customers will be allowed five free transactions every month, including deposits and withdrawals. Above that, customers will be charged a minimum fee of Rs 95 per transaction.
2. Up to five non-home branch transactions will be free for customers, subject to a maximum per-day deposit of Rs 50,000.
3. For larger deposits or the sixth transaction, the bank would charge Rs 50 per Rs 1,000, or Rs 95 per transaction, whichever is higher.

ICICI Bank

1. There will be no charge for first four transactions a month at branches in the home city while Rs 5 per Rs 1,000 will be charged thereafter subject to a minimum of Rs 150 in one month.
2. The third-party limit would be Rs 50,000 per day.
3. For non-home branches, ICICI Bank would not charge for first cash withdrawal of a calendar month and Rs 5 per Rs 1,000 thereafter subject to a minimum of Rs 150.
4. For anywhere cash deposit, ICICI Bank would charge Rs 5 per Rs 1,000 (subject to a minimum of 150) at branches, while deposit at cash acceptance machines would be free of charge for a first cash deposit of a calendar month and Rs 5 per Rs 1,000 thereafter. Source