Mumbai, April , 2021: “Reserve Bank of India, during Aug’12 mandated that Banks are free to levy reasonable charges in BSBD accounts beyond 4 free transactions. The availment of such additional services shall be at the option of the customers. Accordingly, SBI introduced charges for Debit transactions beyond four free transactions in BSBD accounts w.e.f 15.06.2016 with prior intimation to the customers.
CBDT during August 2020, advised Banks to refund the charges collected, if any, on or after 01.01.2020 on transactions carried out using the digital mode and not to impose charges on future transactions carried out through such modes.
In terms of CBDT directives, SBI has refunded the charges recovered in respect of all the digital transactions to the BSBD customers w.e.f. 01.01.2020 to 14.09.2020. SBI has stopped recovering charges in such accounts on all digital transactions w.e.f. 15.09.2020, while retaining charges on cash withdrawals over and above four free withdrawals allowed per month. The objective is also to encourage BSBD account holders including PMJDY account holders to adopt digital payment through the prescribed modes vis-à-vis the cash transactions.
Customer Centricity has always been the Bank’s focus. SBI has been determinedly working towards offering a convenient banking experience to all its diverse range of customers. Bank has also waived fees levied on SMS services and on maintenance of monthly average balance to all its Savings Bank account holders while promoting financial inclusion in the country in a big way.”
About State Bank of India:: State Bank of India is the largest commercial bank in terms of assets, deposits, branches, customers, and employees. It is also the largest mortgage lender in the country. The home loan portfolio of the bank has crossed the milestone of Rs. 5 lakh crore. The bank has auto loan book of Rs. 75,937 crore, as on December 31, 2020, the bank has a deposit base of over Rs. 35 lakh crore and advances of more than Rs. 26 lakh crore with CASA ratio of about 45%. SBI commands over 34% market share in home loans and around 33% in the auto loans segment. The Bank has largest network of more than 22,000 branches in India with an ATM / CDM network of nearly 58,000 and total BC outlets of over 71,000. The number of customers using internet banking and mobile banking stand at 85 million and 19 million respectively. The integrated digital and lifestyle platform by SBI – YONO has crossed 74 million downloads mark. YONO which has over 34.5 million registered users, witnesses 9 million logins per day. Accelerating the digital agenda, SBI has opened over 1.5 million accounts through YONO in the quarter ended December 2020 with nearly 91% of YONO eligible savings bank customers migrated on YONO. In terms of digital lending, bank disbursed pre-approved personal loan (PAPL) worth Rs. 5300 crore via YONO in the same quarter. YONO is also a global name having tasted its success in international markets as well. On social media platforms, SBI has the highest number of followers on Facebook and Twitter amongst all banks worldwide.
