The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced that it will be charging defaulters a penalty from April 1 for not maintaining a minimum balance.
Making maintenance of Rs 5,000 mandatory for accounts in metropolitan areas, Rs 3,000 in urban areas, Rs 2,000 in semi-urban areas and Rs 1,000 in rural areas, the SBI has listed out the charges to be effective from April 1.
SBI’s charges will be based on the difference between the minimum balance required and the shortfall. For metropolitan areas, if the shortfall is greater than 75 per cent, the charges would be Rs 100 plus service tax. If the shortfall is between 50-75 per cent, the bank would charge Rs 75 plus service tax and for below 50 per cent, Rs 50 plus service tax would be levied.
Similarly, for rural areas, the penalty for non-maintenance of minimum balance ranges from Rs 20-50 plus service tax.
From April 1, SBI would also renew the Rs 50 charge for people carrying out over three cash transactions at its branch within a month. This charge is applicable currently as well. However, there is no upper limit on the amount of cash transacted.
"These cash transaction charges at branches already exist. The same have been renewed for the next financial year from April 1. It is to deter customers from visiting the branch but the charges are very nominal. As it is, the customer does not need to visit the branch often because we provide