SBI Savings Account: Tips To Avoid Penalty, Minimum Balance Rules, More

Do you hold a savings bank account with India’s largest bank? State Bank of India or SBI now charges its savings bank account customers for not maintaining certain amounts it has set based on their branch locations. For instance, SBI, which last month revised the minimum balance requirements for maintaining savings accounts, requires its savings bank account customers in metros to maintain a monthly average balance or MAB of Rs. 5,000. The charges are levied on the basis of location of branch where the customer holds his or her account – rural, urban, semi-urban or metro branch. This was said by SBI on microblogging site Twitter.
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A regular review of your account will help you to ensure the average monthly balance is maintained and avoid the minimal charges.
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Here are some other details about SBI’s minimum balance rules for its savings bank accounts:

What is monthly average balance or minimum balance?

Monthly average balance or MAB of an SBI savings bank account is the average of daily balances in the account in a month.
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What is the minimum balance required in my SBI savings account?

SBI has said its savings bank account holders in rural, semi-urban, urban and metro branches need to maintain an average balance of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 2,000, Rs. 3,000 and Rs. 5,000, respectively.
sbi metro branches 650What happens if I don’t maintain minimum average balance in a month?

SBI has revised its service charges across functions from April 4 this year, under which it levies a penalty – which is exclusive of service tax – on its savings account customers based on the quantum of shortfall between the monthly average balance and the prescribed limit.

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What kind of charges apply?

According to SBI’s website, a variety of charges apply to SBI savings bank account holders in different parts of the country. Besides, the difference between the average balance maintained in a month and the minimum required balance will also be taken into account while levying the charges.
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At SBI metro branches, for example, savings bank account holders – who need to maintain a monthly average balance of Rs. 5,000 from April 1 – will need to pay a charge of Rs. 50 in case of an MAB between Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 5,000, Rs. 75 in case it is between Rs. 1,250 and Rs. 2,500, and Rs. 100 in cases where it is up to Rs. 1,249, according to the bank. The charges exclude service tax, which will be levied in addition to the given amounts.

My nearest SBI branch falls under which category?

State Bank of India classifies its branches spanning a multitude of states and districts into the four categories. A link shared by SBI on microblogging site Twitter leads to a document containing a population group-wise (rural, semi-urban, urban or metro) list of its branches.

Meanwhile, SBI last month merged its operations with five of its associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank, joining “the coveted league of Global Top 50 banks”, it said in another Tweet.

[Source”cnbc”]