All ATM withdrawals not chargeable, SBI clarifies after furore in Kerala

Amid a public outcry in Kerala over a State Bank of India (SBI) announcement levying charges on ATM cash withdrawals from June 1, the largest public lender on Thursday clarified that the charge of Rs 25 is applicable only for withdrawals from SBI Buddy through ATMs.

"Rs 25 per transaction charge is applicable only for mobile wallet app SBI Buddy using ATM. This is applicable only for State Bank Buddy customers," the bank said here in a statement.

The clarification comes after the SBI in a notification indicated that all ATM withdrawals will be charged a fee of Rs 25, which was later replaced with the corrected notification.

The bank said that the number of free withdrawals from ATMs remained unchanged.

Jan-Dhan account holders with the SBI can avail of four free withdrawals in a month from ATMs.

Normal savings bank accounts holders will continue to get eight free ATM transactions (five from SBI ATMs plus three from other bank ATMs) in metros and 10 free transactions in non-metros (five from SBI ATMs plus five from other bank ATMs).

Earlier in the day, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac told the media that the only reason he could see for this "mad" new rule was that the SBI was faced with mounting non-performing assets (NPAs) to the tune of Rs 1.67 lakh crore.

"This is height of madness and irresponsibility. It would be interesting to find out the list of NPAs of the SBI... One wouldn't be surprised if the majority (of defaulters) are found to be corporates."

"Just take a look at their (SBI) profits, it has dramatically come down. The charges have been levied to bring down their losses. This is something that even private sector banks would not dare think of doing," said Issac.
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Reason to cheer: No more limits on cash withdrawals at ATMs

BREAKING NEWS - All limits on savings bank cash withdrawals post-demonetisation ended on Monday, as had been announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last month.

In a two-stage process, the weekly withdrawal limit per account had been raised to Rs 50,000, from Rs 24,000, with effect from February 20, and all limits on ATM withdrawals were slated to cease from March 13.

The announcement had been made by RBI Deputy Governor R. Gandhi following the fiscal's last monetary policy review announcement by the central bank in February, when it kept its key interest rate unchanged at 6.25 per cent, saying it awaited data on the full impact of the government's demonetisation drive.

On January 30, the RBI had ended all curbs on withdrawals from Current Accounts, Cash Credit Accounts and Overdraft Accounts.

The limits were placed following the November 8 demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. The upper limit at ATMs was just Rs 2,500 initially and was later raised to Rs 4,500.

In January, the RBI had hiked the daily ATM withdrawal limit to Rs 10,000 and doubled the weekly Current Account withdrawal limit to Rs 1 lakh.

The upper limit for weekly withdrawal from bank accounts had been raised to Rs 24,000 from Rs 20,000 in November.

While lifting of ATM withdrawal limits represents coming full circle for these machines in respect of demonetisation, the return to normalcy in terms of cash available in them is still awaited, indicating the slow pace of remonetisation.(READ MORE)

Govt asks SBI to reconsider minimum balance penalty

BREAKING NEWS - The government on Monday asked State Bank of India (SBI) to reconsider its decision to levy penalty on non-maintenance of minimum balance, which the bank plans to hike manifold from April 1 impacting over 310 million savings bank account holders.

SBI, according to a source, has also been asked to reconsider charges it proposes to levy on cash transactions and ATM withdrawals over specified limits.

The country’s largest lender has announced imposing penalty ranging from Rs 20-100 on non-maintenance of minimum average balance (MAB) in savings bank accounts from April 1.

The penalty is as high as Rs 500 in case of current accounts.

The penalty for breach of MAB is being reintroduced after a gap of five years.

The bank has also increased the minimum balance requirement by many times, which is as high as Rs 5,000 for account maintained with branches in six metro cities.

SBI has also imposed restrictions on withdrawals of cash from its branches as well as ATMs. These will attract charges after certain specified limits.(READ MORE)

Cash withdrawal fee: 78 per cent disagree with banks' move

BREAKING NEWS - Banks, including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, from March 1 started imposing a minimum charge of Rs 150 per transaction for cash deposits and withdrawals beyond four free transactions in a month. The new charges would apply to savings as well as salary accounts. The bank would also cap the third party cash transactions at Rs 25,000 per day, while cash handling charges would be withdrawn.

You can read about then details of this move here:  Banks to levy Rs 150 after 4 cash transactions

Business Standard did a quick poll on Twitter yesterday and the results show how unpopular this move is

We asked: Are banks justified in charging customers for cash transactions in their own accounts?

Out of 575 responses, 78 per cent replied in the negative while 22 per cent supported the banks' move

But why did banks make this move? What prompted this decision? We tried to decode this decision for you.

While these charges have become a reality, you can still transact up to Rs 2 lakh a month at your home branch for free.

So, will banks stick to their decision or will they respond to the negative public reaction to this move? We will keep you informed whatever happens.(READ MORE)

Read: You can still transact up to Rs 2 lakh a month at your home branch for free

Pay Rs 150 after 4 cash transactions in a month at HDFC Bank, ICICI, Axis

Breaking News - Banks including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank today began charging a minimum amount of Rs 150 per transaction for cash deposits and withdrawals beyond four free transactions in a month.

The charges would apply to savings as well as salary accounts effective from today, leading private sector player HDFC Bank said in a circular.

The bank would also cap the third party cash transactions at Rs 25,000 per day, while cash handling charges would be withdrawn effective today, the circular added.

The move was seen in some quarters as aimed at discouraging cash transactions and furthering the digital payment drive.

For the basic no-frills accounts, maximum four cash withdrawals would continue to remain free and there would be no fees for cash deposits.(READ MORE)

Note ban: You can withdraw Rs 50,000 from your savings accounts from today

Breaking news - The weekly limit on withdrawal of cash from savings bank accounts will be increased to Rs 50,000, from the current Rs 24,000, from Monday, and the limit will be removed from March 13.

"Effective February 20, 2017, the limits from cash withdrawal from savings bank accounts will be enhanced to Rs 50,000 per week from the current limit of Rs 24,000 per week (and) effective March 13, 2017, there will be no limits prescribed by RBI on cash withdrawal from savings bank accounts."

The Government and RBI had imposed limits on withdrawal of money from ATMs and bank branches in view of the currency shortage following demonetisation.

These limits, however, are being gradually eased, with RBI pumping in new notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000. (Read More)

After note ban, banks flush with cash but India Inc in no shape to borrow

“Demonetisation has made banks flush with funds, and they will lend it to productive sectors.” — Power Minister Piyush Goyal, November 26, 2016.

It won’t be quite as easy as Goyal said.

Rising non-performing assets (NPAs) and sluggish economic growth sparked a 60% decline in corporate borrowing over the last six years, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, inhibiting the anticipated lending bonanza to companies from banks after demonetisation.

Now, after the government scrapped 86% of India’s bank notes, by value, there are growing indicators of a further slowing.

Automobile companies are witnessing the sharpest fall in deliveries to dealers in 16 years, the Times of India reported, home sales have hit a six-year low, NDTV Profit reported, and bank credit to infrastructure companies declined steadily over the first eight months of 2016-17 and contracted 6.7 per cent in November, the Indian Express reported, quoting RBI data released on January 10, 2017.

So, the Rs 12.44 lakh crore that has now returned to the banking system may be difficult to lend to the corporate sector.

“Deposits can be deployed only if interest rates are cut. Without reducing interest rates, demand won’t rise,” said Nilanjan Ghosh, economist of the Observer Research Foundation, a think tank. “The assumption is that demonetisation has led to higher deposits, resulting in larger cash reserves, allowing banks to advance loans and earn interest. This, in turn, will impact profits, strengthening the core capital of banks.”(Read More)

Cash deals worth Rs 25,000 cr move to digital mode post note ban: Survey

Latest Business News - Post demonetisation, cash-based transactions worth Rs 25,000 crore have moved to the digital mode, says a survey.

The Economic Research Department of State Bank of India carried out the survey from December 30, 2016 to January 3, 2017 so as to understand the nuances of demonetisation. It showed that 15 per cent of transactions moved to electronic payments such as m-wallets and Point of Sale machines.

"This means that Rs 25,000 crore of cash based transactions have moved to digital in the last two months. If this is so, this is a good beginning," SBI Research said in its Ecowrap report.

This number could have been even higher because the behavioural shift has not happened yet and many merchants still prefer cash transactions when the amount is not large, the survey said, adding that a number of merchants are facing connectivity issue at POS machines.

It further noted that around 69 per cent of the respondents affirmed that their businesses were impacted and the overall decline in business is less than 50 per cent for the majority of the businesses that were impacted.(Read More)

Withdrawal limits from banks, ATMs won't be lifted anytime soon

Breaking News - The Narendra Modi government has asked for time till late December to mid-January for the 'pain' of demonetisation to ease out. However, a major reason for the inconvenience -- withdrawal limits from banks and ATMs -- is likely to stay for longer.

After announcing his demonetisation drive on November 8, Modi has time and again asked for 50 days from the public. While no explicit instructions have been issued as to when the limits of Rs 24,000 per week for savings accounts and Rs 50,000 per week from current accounts, and Rs 2,500 per day from ATMs will be lifted, a large section of the public is hoping that these restrictions will be eased after December 30.

However, these limits will certainly not be lifted anytime soon. Even if the situation eases by mid-January, as per a statement by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley a couple of weeks back, the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India will take their time assessing the situation before lifting the caps, Business Standard has learnt from senior government sources (Read More).

Cap on ATM withdrawal to be eased after Dec 30, says MoS Finance

Minister of State for Finance Santosh Gangwar has said that the current restrictions on ATM withdrawals will be removed after December 30 and added that there are sufficient cash to cater to people's needs.
When he was asked about the possibility of easing withdrawal caps, Gangwar said, "Yes, of course, it will happen. It's just a temporary phase."
When we he was asked as to whether the withdrawal limits will be normalised, Gangwar said, "I am also in favour of that, but it is under discussion."
Currently, a maximum of Rs 2,500 can be withdrawn from ATMs in a day, while Rs 24,000 per week can be withdrawn from bank accounts(ReadMore).