Cash withdrawal to be costlier for SBI customers from July
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New Delhi: The State Bank of India will begin levying fees for money withdrawal beyond the four free transactions from customers of holding the basic savings bank deposit (BSBD) accounts from July 1. The charges will also be applied on customers for cheque book beyond 10 leaves in a year.
As per the revision in service charges for BSBD accounts, the State Bank of India (SBI) will levy charges ranging from Rs 15 to Rs 75 for the "additional value-added services" with effect from July 1, 2021.
Charges ranging from Rs 15 to Rs 75 for different money transactions as fees for 'the additional value-added services' will be applied on the BSBD customers with effect from July 1, 2021.
Non-financial transactions and transfer transactions will be free of cost at branches, ATMs, CDM (cash dispensing machines) for the BSBD account holders. SBI said it will charge Rs 15 plus GST per cash withdrawal for transactions at bank branches, SBI ATM or from other bank's ATMs beyond 4 free cash withdrawals. "Charges will be recovered beyond 4 free cash withdrawal transactions (including ATM and branch)," SBI said.
With respect to cheque book services, first 10 cheque leaves will be free of cost in a financial year. Thereafter, 10 leaf cheque books will be levied Rs 40 plus GST; 25 leaf cheque books at Rs 75 plus GST and emergency cheque books will attract a charge of Rs 50 plus GST for 10 leaves or part thereof, SBI said.
"However, senior citizen customers are exempted (on cheque book services)," said the state-owned lender. BSBD accounts can be opened by any individual after valid KYC (know your customer) documentation. Such accounts are primarily meant for poorer sections of society to encourage them to start saving without any burden of charges or fees.
According to a study revealed by IIT-Bombay in April this year, SBI earned over Rs 300 crore by way of imposing service charges on nearly 12 crore BSBD account holders during 2015-20.
The study observed that SBI levying a charge of Rs 17.70 for every debit transaction beyond four on the BSBD account holders was not "reasonable." As per the study, apart from SBI, the second-largest public sector lender Punjab National Bank collected Rs 9.9 crore from 3.9 crore BSBD accounts during the same period.
Levying of charges on BSBDA is guided by September 2013 RBI guidelines. As per the direction, these accounts holders are 'allowed more than four withdrawals' in a month, at the bank's discretion provided the bank does not charge for the same.