Mumbai: Everybody complains about exorbitant charges and penalties charged by banks ranging from non maintenance of minimum balance to debit card and credit card penal interest and so on. However, many a times a charge is slipped into without you noticing the same.
2014 onwards, PSBs and private banks have capped the number of free transactions at their own ATM networks. Five such transactions a month are non-chargeable. Similarly, 3-5 free transactions a month at other banks’ ATMs are non-chargeable depending on location of ATM (metro or non-metro). Beyond this limit, most banks, including top banks like SBI, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, charge Rs 20 per financial transaction and around Rs 8 for each subsequent non-financial transaction.
PNB charges Rs 20 (among the highest) for non-financial transactions beyond the set limit. Also note that you may be penalised for transactions declined at another bank’s ATMs or point of sale (POS) due to insufficient balance. For instance, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank charge Rs 25 per for an unsuccessful transaction while SBI charges Rs 20 excluding taxes.
Online money transfer options like IMPS and NEFT have made money transfer convenient. However, most banks charge you for these online transactions. For IMPS transactions, SBI charges Rs 1 plus GST for Rs 1,001-Rs 10,000. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and PNB charge Rs 5 per transaction.
While most banks charge around Rs 2.50 per NEFT transaction for amounts up to Rs 10,000, HDFC Bank provides the NEFT facility for free.
That SMS you receive from your bank every time you swipe your debit card or your salary comes in? It’s not free. Most banks charge Rs 15 per quarter to customers who sign up for SMS alerts. In other words, we shell out Rs 60 a year just to get a heads-up on possible fraud. Some smaller banks charge a higher amount including Karur Vysya bank, which charges Rs 30 per quarter.
Physical banking is a costly affair for the banks towards operating charges. They hence discourage customers from dropping by into branches. This way, customers may be inclined towards using internet and mobile banking. Transactions such as deposits, withdrawals and fund transfers – at the branches may be charged.
ICICI Bank charges customers beyond four free branch (cash) transactions in their home cities. Beyond which they have to shell out Rs 5 per thousand rupees, subject to a minimum of Rs 150 in the same month. Whereas, SBI offers three free cash deposit transactions at its branches, and charges Rs 50 plus GST for every subsequent transaction. HDFC Bank charges Rs 150 per transaction (plus taxes) from the 5th transaction onwards.
Some banks charge cheque reissue fees if your balance falls below average balance requirements. Also, if you drop in at your bank branch to get your Internet banking user ID or password reissued or regenerate a PIN, you may have to pay around Rs 50 for the service.
In order to avail the rewards redemption, a fee may be charged when you wish to spend your accumulated points. Most banks charge Rs 99 plus GST per redemption request.
Keep these things in mind in order to prevent pinching your pocket the next time you avail these services.
