India’s largest lender, State Bank of India is all set to revise the service charges for SBI Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) account holders. The new charges would apply to ATM withdrawals, chequebook, transfer, and other non-financial transactions. The new charges will come into effect from July 1, 2021.

Note that SBI Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) account can be opened by any individual providing valid KYC documents. The minimum balance required in the SBI BSBD account is nil while there is no limit on the maximum amount one can keep in this account. The BSBD account holders are provided also with a Basic Rupay ATM-cum-debit card.

New Charges:

• Cash withdrawal charges at SBI bank branches: SBI will deduct charges in excess of the four free cash withdrawals, plus those made at a branch and at an ATM. In other words, BSI account holders who make more than four free cash withdrawals in a month will be charged a service fee. Customers will be charged Rs 15 plus GST for each cash withdrawal transaction made at a Branch Channel/ATM. 
• Cash withdrawal charges at SBI ATMs: Service charges will be levied after the first four free cash withdrawals, including at ATMs and branches, according to SBI. At both SBI and non-SBI ATMs, there will be a service charge of Rs 15 plus GST per withdrawal after the first four withdrawals. 

New cheque book charges:

BSBD account holders will get 10 free cheque leaves every financial year from SBI. After that, a ten-leaf cheque book would cost Rs 40 plus GST. A 25-leaf cheque book will cost you Rs 75 plus GST. For a 10 leaf or half of a 10 leaf Emergency Cheque Book, Rs 50 plus GST would be charged.

The new service fee on cheque books is waived for senior citizens. Non-financial transactions by BSBD account holders at SBI and non-SBI bank branches would be free of service charge. It is worth adding that cash withdrawals can only be made using a withdrawal form at a branch or by an ATM, and there is no option to use a cheque book with a BSBD account.

Cash withdrawal limit:

SBI has doubled the amount of cash withdrawal for self (via cheque) to Rs 1 lakh per day. Cash withdrawal for self (through a withdrawal form) along with a Savings bank passbook has been raised five times to Rs 25,000 per day. Third-party cash withdrawals, which were not allowed earlier, have been fixed at Rs 50,000 per month (only via cheque). 

Cash withdrawal by a third party, which was not allowed earlier, has been pegged at Rs 50,000 per day (using cheque only). Note that home branch is a branch where the customer’s account is maintained. Branches other than their home branch are called non-home branches.

The revision in ceilings for non-home transactions for ‘Personal’ segment customers is available up to September-end 2021. 
The lender has also disallowed cash payment to third parties via withdrawal forms. Branches would verify the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) document(s) of the third party and preserve them along with the instruments.