State Bank of India (SBI) came out with a clarification on Monday (November 22) regarding news reports which said the bank has yet to return Rs 164 crore of the undue fee charged from the account holders of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) towards digital payments during April 2017 and December 2019.
“SBI has been at the forefront of the Financial Inclusion (FI) initiative of the Government of India with a FI customer base of 13.76 crores. The services to these customers are provided by a strong network of 70,193 Bank Mitras. In the Bank Mitra or Business Correspondent channel, banking and micro insurance services are provided to the customers in an assisted mode in rural and semi urban areas.
“SBI has made all digital transactions free to the FI customers w.e.f. 01.01.2020. Further, up to four cash withdrawals in a month are free. Fully free digital transactions and four free cash withdrawals are enabling these customers to meet all their banking requirements.
“There has been a news article on 22.11.2021 that SBI is not refunding charges recovered from the customers on digital transactions. We confirm that Bank is in full compliance with the Government and regulatory directives in this regard.
