SBI reduces minimum balance charges

March 15, 2018 Finance Talk Valli Sarvani No comments

The State Bank of India (SBI) has just cut charges in savings accounts by about 75% for the non-maintenance of Average Monthly Balance (AMB).

According to the SBI, this change was made due to feedback from various stakeholders. The changes will benefit over 25 crore customers, and they will be effective on April 1st.

In Metro and Urban centers, the charges for the non-maintenance of AMB have been reduced from ₹50 per month to ₹15 per month.

In Semi-Urban and Rural centers, the charges for the non-maintenance of AMB have been reduced from ₹40 per month to ₹12 per month.

₹10 GST charges will be applicable for all of these rates.

The criticism that led to this decision concerned the large income of ₹1,771 crore that the SBI had earned in eight months.

However, many depositors had failed to maintain their balance in their bank accounts, which led to their complaints that caused the SBI to lower their non-maintenance charges.

This change follows the SBI’s service charge cut in October of last year, in which charges for the non-maintenance of AMB were cut by 20% to 50%.

Previously, metro and urban customers were charged from ₹40 to ₹100, and semi-urban and rural customers were charged from ₹25 to ₹75.

After October’s service charge cut, metro and urban customers were charged between ₹30 and ₹50, and semi-urban and rural customers were charged between ₹20 and ₹40.

Now, the service charges are being cut once again, in order to make it even easier for customers to maintain their bank accounts.

P. K. Gupta, the MD of the SBI, said that the SBI is always invested in the interests of its customers, and they are eager to listen to their feedback and fulfill their expectations.

With this second cut in service charges, the SBI is showing that it truly does want to help its customers maintain and grow their bank accounts.

Image Credit: Fredericknoronha / CC BY-SA 4.0