Many customers are being charged small amounts by
banks, for actions they do not realize are costing them money.
These miscellaneous bank fees can add up to quite
a tidy sum if one is not careful.
The first step is awareness of all the bank fees
that you are paying. With a little care and disciplined action, you can avoid
many miscellaneous banking charges or penalties.
1. Penalty of Non-maintenance of minimum balance..!
Banks charge a penalty if you do not maintain the
specified minimum balance in your savings account.
The minimum balance criteria vary for each bank
and are clearly listed in each bank’s website and the account opening
literature.
The penalty is charged if minimum monthly average
balance (MAB) or a minimum quarterly average balance (QAB) is not maintained as
per the bank’s terms.
The minimum balance criteria of the same bank
sometimes vary in cities and towns.
ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have a minimum monthly
balance requirement of Rs. 10,000 in metros and big cities, while it is Rs.
5,000 in small towns and Rs. 2,000 in rural areas.
For non-maintenance of monthly average balance,
they charge a penalty of Rs. 250 to
Rs. 350 depending on the city of the
account holder.
2. Usage Charges of bank ATMs..!
Do you
depend on ATMs for frequent cash withdrawal and balance checking?
If yes, you could well be paying a penalty for
excessive usage of ATMs. As per RBI guidelines, for more than 5 ATM
transactions per month, a penalty of R20 for each financial transaction and Rs.
8.5 for each non-financial transaction can be charged.
You only get 3 free ATM transactions at other
bank ATMs if you live in any of the six metro cities of Mumbai, New Delhi,
Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
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| Mr. Adhil Shetty, Founder & CEO, BankBazaar.com |
Avoid using ATMs for frequent
withdrawal.
Rely more on net banking / mobile banking to check
your account balance and for all possible money transactions.
3. Penalty on inoperative accounts..!
If you are
keeping your bank account dormant, without any inward or outward remittance,
your account is bracketed as inactive, even if there is money.
If the account has no transaction for 24 months,
it will be classified as inoperative. When your account is made inoperative,
banks charge you a penalty ranging from Rs. 50 to Rs. 200 annually for the
account.
Maintain some transactions in your account and do
not let the account become inactive or inoperative.
4. Charges on duplicate bank statement..!
Even
though a net banking facility allows you to take statements and check previous
transactions, many people still go the traditional way and ask for duplicate
statements from the branch.
For issuing duplicate bank statement, banks
charge a fee, which is usually close to Rs. 100 every time you request for it.
Therefore, make use of the net banking facility
to get your account statement.
5. Dishonoured cheques..!
If any of
your cheque transactions fail due to any reason, banks levy a penalty on you.
The charges may vary from bank to bank as well as for local and outstation
cheques. Whenever issuing a cheque, make sure that it is properly signed and
all details are filled as per the bank’s criteria.
Signature mismatches and lack of adequate funds
are the two common reasons for cheque returns, leading to unwanted penalties.
Banks are well within their rights to charge penalties for any services they
offer. It is better to maintain financial discipline and avoid paying
unnecessary penalties to the bank.
About the author..!
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