Minimum balance provision in SBI eliminated: interest rate reduced to 3 percent

New delhi date. March 11, 2020, Wednesday

It is no longer necessary for the savings account holders of State Bank of India (SBI) to maintain an average minimum balance in their account. Hence, now they can continue the account even with zero amount in the account. However, the country's largest nationalized bank has reduced interest rates for all its savings accounts to three percent.

State Bank of India has eliminated the necessity of keeping average minimum balance for all its savings account holders. As a result, all the savings account holders of the bank will get the facility of 'zero balance' account. Moreover, the bank has reduced the interest rate for all savings accounts evenly by three percent a year.

In a statement issued by the SBI on "steps towards financial inclusion", the State Bank of India has set an average monthly minimum balance (AMB) for all 44.51 crore savings account holders for the advancement of financial inclusion operations in the country.

Currently, the savings account holders in metro cities have an average monthly minimum of Rs 3000, in the area of ​​Town (Town) area the savings account holders have an average monthly minimum of Rs 2000, while these rural bank account holders have to keep Rs 1000 in the above amount.

This amount - the average monthly minimum amount that the account holder does not have in his savings account, was to pay a fine of Rs. The account holders who canceled the AMB provision would have the facility of 'zero balance' (ie no minimum balance in the account), and the bank also eliminated the provision of charge for SMS service on a quarterly basis.

State Bank of India Chairman Rajneesh Kumar said that "this decision by the bank authorities will put a smile on the faces of many more people." The bank has taken this step by following the notion of 'consumer interest' first. Moreover, the bank has reduced it to three percent for all categories as part of rationalizing the interest rate in the savings account.