Raising to offer basic facilities free of charge, FinMin advises banks to withdraw minimum balance penalty on BSBD accounts
“Banks do not have any minimum balance requirement for basic savings bank deposit accounts, including accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana”, stated Anurag Thakur in the lower house while referring to the RBI guidelines, clearing ahead that there was no need for charges on maintaining minimum balance.
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Further referring to the statistics, he said that as on March 2019, there were 57.3 crore basic savings bank deposit accounts across the country including 35.27 crore Jan-Dhan accounts. “BSBD accounts are considered normal banking services available to all and it offers certain basic minimum facilities free of charge”, he added.
As per the RBI’s master circular, for accounts other than basic savings bank deposit accounts, banks are permitted to fix service charges on various services rendered by them, while ensuring that the charges are reasonable and not out of line with the average cost of providing these services.
Thakur also advised banks to identify basic services and the principles to be followed by them for ensuring reasonableness in fixing such charges. “Banks must take steps to ensure that customers are made aware of the service charges upfront and changes in the service charges are implemented only with the prior notice to the customers”, he signed off.
COURTESY:- NEWS BHARATI
