Financial relaxations such as no transaction charges after exceeding the free cash withdrawal limit on ATM and minimum account balance in bank accounts, allowed on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, has expired on Wednesday, July 1. Hence, the transaction charges have gone back to pre-COVID levels.
Here are the major changes bank customers should not miss:
ATM charges
The bank ATM cash withdrawal rules have changed from July 1. During lockdown, norms for cash withdrawals from a bank ATM were relaxed but are now going to be tightened. The relaxation was announced for three months—April, May, June—and the deadline was June 30.
From July 1, ATM transactions have become expensive for all SBI customers. As per banking rules, a customer has to pay charges for ATM transactions made beyond the permitted number of free transactions. However, the charges differ depending on whether the withdrawal has been made from the same bank's ATM or from a different one.
SBI will charge a fee ranging from Rs10 plus GST to Rs20 plus GST for any additional financial transactions beyond the set limit. For all salary accounts at all locations, SBI will offer free unlimited transactions at SBG ATMs and other bank ATMs.
Meanwhile, a committee appointed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reportedly recommended an increase in inter-change charges for all transactions carried out on ATMs across the country. The report stated that the committee wants to cap the withdrawal limit at Rs 5,000 per transaction and wants to levy charges if a person wants to withdraw an amount bigger than this.
The committee recommended an increase of 16 percent, or Rs 2, to Rs 17 for financial transactions and to Rs 7 from Rs 5 for non-financial transactions at ATMs in all centres with a population of one million and above.
Minimum balance
The rule of minimum balance, which was waived in the savings account will restart. If there is no minimum balance in the accounts, the bank will be able to charge a penalty on it. Currently, according to the metro city, semi-urban and rural areas, the limit for keeping a minimum balance in a savings account in different banks is different.
A minimum balance of Rs 3,000 is required in metro cities, Rs 2,000 in semi-urban areas and Rs 1,000 in rural areas on the accounts of State Bank of India (SBI).
Employees' Pension Fund (EPF)
The Central government has relaxed rules to withdraw money from the Employees' Pension Fund (EPF) during the lockdown imposed for the prevention of coronavirus.
In view of the scarcity of cash with the people, the Finance Ministry had provided an emergency withdrawal facility from the EPF and the last day of application is on June 30. Shareholders could withdraw an amount which was less than thrice the basic salary and dearness allowance or 75 per cent of the total deposit amount.
Atal Pension Yojana
Auto debit of monthly contribution will start from Atal Pension Yojana accounts in July. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority had, in April, directed banks to stop the auto debit of Atal Pension Yojana till June 30. With no further extension of the relaxation, auto debit facilities will be started once again.
