Free withdrawals at HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank over; here are 10 things you might have missed

Four months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation move, which fueled the digital economy wave, some private banks have taken a major step to promote cashless transactions in India by levying charges on cash transactions. The announcement was made on Wednesday and major private banks including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, have decided to charge a minimum amount of Rs 150 per transaction for cash deposits and withdrawals. However, what you may not know is that charge will be levied only after four free transactions in a month. Moreover, even though the other banks have increased the charges, ICICI bank has kept the charges same as it was before the demonetisation move. So, if you had survived the demonetisation move, this shouldn’t be a major worry either.

Here are 10 things about the new announcement that you may have missed:

1. Leading banks like HDFC, ICCI and Axis Bank will charge minimum Rs 150 for both salaries as well savings account for cash deposits and withdrawals but only beyond four free transactions in a month.

2. There will be a cap of Rs 25,000 per day on third-party transactions and cash handling charges will also be taken off starting from Wednesday itself.

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3. This move has been made to promote digital payments and discourage cash transactions which weaken the formal banking system. However, as far as the basic no-frills accounts are considered, there won’t be any fee for cash deposits but only four cash withdrawals will be free at maximum.

4. The HDFC bank users will have to Rs 150 for every cash transactions after the four free ones and at the same time will have to pay cess and an additional service tax.

5. If the account holder wishes to withdraw or deposit more than Rs 2 lakh in cash at the home branch of HDFC, he’ll be charged Rs 5 per thousand rupees or a minimum amount of Rs 150 (plus tax and cess).

6. The good news is that HDFC will not be charging any fee or tax for minors and senior citizens up to an amount of Rs 25,000 per day.

7. For the ICICI bank customers, no fee will be charged for the first four transactions in the month but Rs 5 per thousand rupees or a minimum amount of Rs 150 will be charged after that.

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8. However, things get trickier if you wish to withdraw the money from a non-home branch, as only the first withdrawal of the calendar month will be free for the ICICI bank customers and after that Rs 5 per thousand rupees thereafter subjected to a minimum of Rs 150 will be charged.

9. The deposit at the Cash Acceptance Machine would be free of charge for the first deposit of the calendar month and Rs 5 per thousand will be charged after that. However, if you want to deposit cash at the ICICI bank branches, you will be charged Rs 5 per thousand rupees.

10. As far as the Axis Bank is considered, first 5 transactions or Rs 10 lakh cash withdrawal or deposit will be free. However, after that, the customers will be charged at Rs 5 per thousand rupees or Rs 150, whichever is higher.

The demonetisation announcement was made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016, when he declared the old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes invalid in a bid to restrain corruption in India and to promote the digital transactions at the same time. The move drew different opinions as people believed that it will help the Indian economy to grow in the longer run while others criticised its execution.