Bank alert! This bank has hiked minimum balance and SMS charges

If you are an Axis Bank customer then we have a piece of sad news for you. The bank has hiked several charges for its savings bank account customers, including non-maintenance of minimum balance and SMS charges. All the revisions will take place from May 1. 

Axis Bank customers will now have to maintain a monthly average balance of Rs 15000, up from Rs 10,000, according to a report by MoneyControl. Prime and Liberty branded savings account holders will now have to maintain a monthly balance of Rs 25,000, up from Rs 15,000 earlier.

If you fail to maintain these limits then the bank will penalise you Rs 10 per Rs 100 of the shortfall. The minimum charges that the bank can charge as a fine have been decreased to Rs 50 while the maximum charges have been increased to Rs 800 from the existing sum of Rs 600. Meanwhile, if your average monthly balance is less than Rs 7,500, then the bank will charge Rs 800 plus taxes. 

As far as the withdrawal charges are concerned, Axis Bank currently charges Rs 5 per Rs 1,000 you withdraw after exhausting the free four transitions or cash withdrawals of up to Rs 2 lakh in a month. 

You’ll now have Rs 10 for cash withdrawals after you exhaust your limit from May 1 onwards. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank haven’t increased their charges yet and their fees still stand at just Rs 5. 

Parijat Garg, a digital lending consultant, told MoneyControl, “By charging cash withdrawal fees after exceeding the free limit, the bank is discouraging cash withdrawals beyond the anticipated average use and seeking increased adoption of digital banking means.” 

Axis Bank has also increased its SMS charges, as the bank will charge 25 paise for every SMS alert, up to a maximum of Rs 25 per month, instead of the current Rs 5 every month. The rule will be effective from July 1. Notably, the bank won’t charge for one-time passwords and transactional OTPs.