SBI's (State Bank of India) Minimum Balance Requirements Kick in

If you've been reading this blog for a while now, you will know that I'm a fan of SBI. Without it's bells and whistles SBI has proven to be a solid bank in my experience. Agree that they don't have a super friendly customer service, but I'd rather not have an "aggressive" customer service only to hide the hidden fees and shady transactions beneath (like some other banks do). SBI does you job done and with convenience. Which is why I like them. There has been lot of activity with SBIO recently. Be it launching new credit cards or updating their loan rates. And now, they have brought about one more update to their services which is getting somewhat mixed reviews from customers. From April 1st, 2017 State Bank of India will have a minimum balance requirement for their customers, as follows.

SBI Minimum Balance Requirements

Metro cities - Minimum balance of Rs 5,000/year Urban cities -Minimum balance of Rs 3,000/year Semi-urban cities -Minimum balance of Rs 2,000/year Rural areas -Minimum balance of Rs 1,000/year

Penalty charges if you don't maintain minimum balance

So, as per the list of revised charges of SBI, failure to maintain average balance/minimum balance in accounts will get you a penalty of up to Rs 100 plus service tax for every account. And these charges differ by regions. In metro cities, the penalty is Rs 100 plus service tax, if the balance falls below 75 per cent of the MAB of Rs 5,000. If the shortfall is 50 per cent or less of the MAB, then the bank will charge Rs 50 plus service tax.

SBI ATM withdrawal charges

If you use SBI ATMs more than five times a month, there will be a withdrawal charge of Rs.10 per transaction. If you use other banks ATMs to withdraw money from your SBI account, there will be a charge of Rs.20 if the number of transactions are more than 3/month. If your bank balance is above Rs.25,000, there will be no ATM charges even if you go beyond 5 transactions/month at SBI ATMs. And if your balance is more than Rs.1 Lakh, there won't be any charges for using other bank ATMs.

SBI SMS Alert charges

There will be a charge Rs 15 for SMS alerts per quarter (three months) from debit card holders who maintain average quarterly balance of up to Rs 25,000 during the three months period. There will be no charge for UPI/ USSD transactions of up to Rs 1,000.

Are these charges affecting other State Banks?

Yes, from April 1st, 2017, every other bank associated with SBI like, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Travancore (SBT), State Bank of Patiala (SBP), and State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) and Bharatiya Mahila Bank will follow the same rules on additional charges. I think this is not a bad move as the media projects it to be. Of course, if your bank balance is low, then you will have these charges incurred, but this is a good reason for you to keep your balances in check, perhaps.