Most banks in the country levy certain charges from their customers in case a cheque bounce occurs. Cheque bounce is a 'dishonour of cheque' that happens when the account holder has non-sufficient funds (NSF) in the bank account or if the signatures on the cheque do not match with the original signature of the cheque issuer. When there are insufficient funds in an account, and a bank decides to bounce a check, it charges the account holder an NSF fee. The charges towards a cheque bounce vary from one bank to another, depending on factors such as the reason and nature of cheque bounce.
Here are the charges levied by State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank in case of a cheque bounce:
State Bank of India (SBI):
SBI cheque bounce charges, as mentioned on the bank's website - sbi.co.in:
| Cheque/bill deposited with the bank returned unpaid by others (Local/ Outstation) | |
|---|---|
| Cheque/bill up to Rs 1.00 lakh | Rs 150/- + GST |
| Cheque/bill above Rs 1.00 lakh | Rs 250/- + GST |
| Cheque Returned Charges for Cheques drawn on us (for insufficient funds only) | |
| For all customers | Rs 500/- + GST, irrespective of the amount |
| Cheque returned charges for Cheques drawn on us (for technical reasons) for all customers. (Not to be charged where customer is not at fault as per RBI guidelines) | Rs 150/- + GST |
ICICI Bank:
ICICI Bank cheque bounce charges, as mentioned on the bank's website - icicibank.com
| Cheque Returns | |
|---|---|
| Local cheque deposited by customer | Rs.100 for every cheque return for financial reasons |
| Cheque issued by customer | Rs.350 for one cheque return per month; Thereafter, Rs.750 per return in the same month for financial reasons Rs.50 for non-financial reasons except for signature verification |
| Transfer cheque returns will be charged at Rs. 350 per return for financial reasons | |
| Outstation cheque deposited by customer | Rs.150 plus other bank charges at actuals per cheque |
HDFC Bank
HDFC cheque bounce charges, as mentioned on the bank's website - hdfcbank.com:
| Cheque return charges drawn on us - Local | Due to insufficient funds |
|---|---|
| First cheque return in a quarter - Rs 350 | |
| From second cheque return in the same quarter - Rs 750 per return | |
| Charges due to funds transfer cheque return - Rs 350 | |
| Due to technical reasons - Rs 50/- | |
| (ex. - Alteration not allowed, Amount in Word / Figures Required, Cheque Altered - Refer to Drawer, etc.) | |
| Cheques deposited returned unpaid | Charge of Rs 100 per instance |
| Stop payment charges (request from customer not to honor cheque issued) at Branches | Particular cheque - Rs 100 |
| Range of cheques - Rs 200 | |
| No Charge through PhoneBanking and NetBanking |
If a cheque bounce occurs due to insufficient funds or signature mismatch, both the defaulter and the payee are charged by their individual banks. However, a bounced cheque can be redeposited.
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