Axis Bank has updated its service fees for savings bank account customers, which will take effect on May 1, 2021. In addition to the free limit, private banks have also increased the charges for cash withdrawals from ATMs. It also increases the minimum balance requirements for different types of savings accounts, while reducing the minimum fee for not maintaining the minimum balance of the savings account. The bank has cut service fees for certain services, such as photo attestation and signature verification.
Starting from July 1, lenders will begin sending SMS alerts to customers to charge higher fees. From July 1st, the bank will begin to charge 25 paise for each SMS (currently 15 rupees per quarter until June 30), and the upper limit is set at 25 rupees. According to the lender, there are no fees for promotional SMS and OTP alerts.
According to the bank’s website, some accounts are exempt from SMS alert fees. Burgundy private accounts, Burgundy, NRI, trust and government accounts, priority accounts, defense personnel payroll accounts, employee accounts, pension accounts, small and basic accounts, and specific payroll relationships fall into this category of accounts.
Axis Bank SMS Alert Charges
According to the Axis Bank website, the current fee for certain VAS (Value Added Service) alerts is 5 rupees per month on a subscription basis (a quarterly fee is 15 rupees per quarter). This will be valid until June 30, 2021. Starting from July 1, 2021, a fee of 25 SMS/alerts will be charged based on the actual usage/text messages sent to customers, with a monthly limit of 25 rupees.
There is no charge for promotional text messages or OTP reminders sent by the bank. To combat fraud, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has prompted banks to send SMS notifications for each transaction. The regulator also instructs the banks to charge fees based on actual usage.
According to the Reserve Bank of India, charging based on actual usage will help increase the transparency of customer transactions. Once the funds are deposited in the beneficiary’s account, the Reserve Bank of India recommends that the bank issue mandatory SMS alerts for debit card transactions, NEFT, ATM withdrawals, and RTGS transactions; these are free of charge. According to Reserve Bank of India regulations, all other transaction alerts are based on fees.
Charges For Withdrawing Cash And Not Maintaining A Minimum Balance
Cash withdrawals that exceed the free limit are currently charged at 5 rupees per 1,000 rupees or 150 rupees, whichever is higher. Starting from May 1, 2021, cash withdrawals exceeding the free limit will be charged at the higher of Rs 10 or Rs 150 per 1,000 rupees.
Starting from the metro locations, the average balance requirement limit of the Easy Savings plan has been revised from Rs 10,000 to Rs. 15,000 rupees and fees for not maintaining the minimum balance have been introduced. This change will begin on May 1, 2021. If these restrictions are not met, a fine of 10 rupees will be imposed on the shortfall of the 100 rupees.
However, the bank has lowered the minimum fee from the previous 150 rupees to 50 rupees. However, the maximum fee has been increased from 600 rupees to 800 rupees. The minimum balance threshold for the existing Prime variants ( Savings domestic and non-resident Prime, Digital Prime, and Liberty plans) has been revised to an AMB (average monthly balance) of Rs 25,000 or a term deposit of Rs 100,000.
The bank also cut the minimum fee for not maintaining the minimum balance in the savings account. Banks have also reduced the minimum fees for non-balance management. The bank has reduced the minimum fee for non-maintaining balances at all locations from INR 150 to INR 50 to ensure the preference of customers who may be slightly below the standard threshold for balances.
Dormant Account Fees And Other Service Fees
Axis Bank will charge a fee to the dormant payroll account. Payroll accounts that are active for more than six months in a calendar month and have not received any credits (through cash, transfer, settlement, numbers, etc.) will be charged a monthly fee of INR 100.
In addition to this, in the 18th month, the savings accounts that have not transacted in the past 17 months will be charged a one-time fee of 100 rupees. From May 1, 2021, the service fee will include address confirmation, cancellation of cheques, photo attestation and other proof, signature verification, and some other content will be reduced.
