When we open a bank account, we are told to maintain a minimum balance, failing which we are penalised. But have you ever wondered how much penalty do banks collect from us, in the name of minimum balance?
A Madhya Pradesh RTI activist Chandrashekhar Gaur has revealed that the Punjab National Bank collected Rs 278.66 crore penalty from over 1 crore 27 lakh poor account holders during the financial year 2018-19, reported India Today.
The RTI reply also says that the amount is 32 per cent more than last year. Of the total amount collected Rs 226.36 crore are from 1.22 crore savings accounts and Rs 52.30 crore from 5,37,692 current accounts.
The activist has urged the government to immediately review the charges in the larger public interest.
The Logical Indian compared the minimum balance penalties of various private and public sector banks and found that some of them keep the minimum balance as high as Rs 10000 and charge as much as Rs 500 per month as a penalty.
Kotak Mahindra Bank Edge Savings Account:
–Minimum Balance: Rs 1000
–Fine per month: Upto Rs 500
IndusInd Bank Privilege Savings Account:
–Minimum Balance: Rs 10000 for category A and B bank accounts, while Rs 5000 for category C bank accounts
–Fine per month: Rs 100 – Rs 500 per month
ICICI Bank Regular Savings Account:
-Minimum Balance: Rs 1000-Rs 2000 for rural areas and Rs 5000-Rs 10000 for urban areas
-Fine per month: 5 per cent of the shortfall amount for Gramin accounts. For all other accounts an additional charge of Rs 100 along with the above
HDFC Bank Regular Savings Account:
-Minimum Balance: Rs 5000-Rs 10000 for urban areas and Rs 2,500 or Fixed Deposit of Rs 10,000 for minimum 1 year 1 day period for rural areas
-Fine per month: Upto Rs 300-Rs 600 for urban areas and upto Rs 450 in rural areas
SBI Savings Plus Account:
-Minimum Balance: Rs 1000 for rural areas and Rs 2000 – Rs 3000 for urban areas
-Fine per month: Upto Rs 15 in urban areas and upto Rs 10
Punjab National Bank Savings Deposit (General) Account:
-Minimum Balance: Rs 1000 for rural and Rs 2000 for urban
-Fine per month: Rs 25 – Rs 250 as per the location, category and shortfall in average quarterly balance in brackets of Rs 100
