Keep a tab on bank charges and save money

All commercial banks levy a plethora of charges for providing various kinds of services to the customers. However, the customers may not even be aware of these charges unless they check up their bank accounts regularly.

Almost all banks levy a penalty for not maintaining minimum average balance (MAB) in the account on a monthly/quarterly basis. Hence, failure on the part of the customer to maintain the MAB results in a penalty ranging from a minimum of Rs 5 to maximum of Rs 600. To avoid being penalised, customers need to keep a tab on the balance in the bank account. Some of the banks provide this information online, which can be accessed after logging into the online bank account. 

Then, some banks levy cash handling charges for deposit or withdrawal of cash at the bank branch in person after a specified maximum number of cash transactions. The cash handling charges can range from Rs 50 to Rs 150 per transaction after the maximum limit is exceeded. To avoid this charge, one can deposit or withdraw larger amount to keep the cash transactions within the specified maximum limit.

Most of the banks offer three to five free ATM withdrawals per month on own or other banks’ ATMs. However, beyond the free limit, banks impose a levy of Rs 10 to Rs 20 per ATM withdrawals. Some banks also levy charges on non-financial transactions such as changing PIN at the ATM, checking the balance in the bank account at the ATM, etc.

The banks also charge a fee for the transfer of funds through RTGS/NEFT. Depending on the amount to be transferred, the charges range from Rs 5 to Rs 10 per transaction for online/mobile transfer and from Rs 25 to Rs 50 per transaction for transfer at the branch. For collection of cheques from outstation locations, banks levy a charge ranging from Rs 20 to Rs 200 per instrument.