Debit Card Charges Levied By SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank Compared

Banks levy debit card charges on their customers depending on the type and number of transactions. Many banks offer certain debit card transactions free of cost in a month. Lenders such as SBI (State Bank of India), ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank currently levy charges on any usage beyond these. In case of these banking majors, these charges range from Rs 5 to Rs 20 plus applicable taxes per transaction, based on factors such as transaction type and ATM location. Here's a lowdown on debit card charges applicable on transactions made through debit cards from these banks.

Here are different services related to debit cards offered by SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, and various charges levied by them:

SBI debit card charges

SBI provides the service of cash deposit using debit card to the card-linked account free of cost. That means the customer can use his or her SBI debit card to deposit cash in his or her bank account without having to pay any charges. However, this is applicable to the bank account linked to the same debit card. For cash deposit in third-party bank accounts through cash points, SBI charges a fee of Rs 22 plus GST per transaction, according to SBI's website - sbi.co.in.

SBI does not levy any issuance charge for its regular debit cards, such as 'classic' debit cards and debit cards issued to salary package account holders.

SBI charges an annual maintenance charge for the debit card. For SBI's classic debit card, this charge is set at Rs 125 plus GST. This fee is recovered by the bank at the beginning of the second year onwards.

For replacement of a debit card, SBI charges Rs 300 plus GST.

For SMS alerts to its debit card holders maintaining an average quarterly balance of Rs 25,000 and below, SBI charges Rs 15 (including GST) per quarter. This charge is waived for salary package accounts, according to SBI. 

ICICI Bank debit card charges

ICICI Bank charges a joining fee of Rs 499 and an annual fee of the same amount for Coral debit cards. The bank does not charge such fee for other debit cards, according to its website - icicibank.com. 

For regeneration of a debit card PIN, ICICI Bank charges a fee of Rs 25. This fee is not applicable for requests made through "instapin" at its branches or through customer care using IVR.

For any decline of transaction at other bank ATMs or points of sale (PoS) due to insufficient balance in the account, ICICI Bank debit card holders are charged Rs 25 per transaction. 

HDFC Bank debit card charges

HDFC Bank issues ATM cards to its customers free of cost. For any instance of replacement or reissuance of debit card, the bank charges a fee of Rs 200 plus applicable taxes, according to the bank's website - hdfcbank.com.

Usage of HDFC Bank debit card at domestic merchant locations and websites is free of cost. Also, no fuel surcharge is applicable for the transactions done on HDFC Bank swipe machines at petrol outlets of state-run HPCL, IOCL and BPCL.

However, at select merchants such as IRCTC/railway stations, transaction charges/ surcharges by the merchant are applicable.

For using an HDFC Bank debit card at a railway station, a flat charge of Rs. 30 per ticket plus 1.8 per cent of the transaction amount is applicable.

For making bookings through the IRCTC website, HDFC Bank customers are required to pay a transaction charge of 1.8 per cent  of the transaction amount.

For instant PIN generation, wherein the HDFC Bank customer sets up his or her own PIN using either net banking or mobile banking routes, the bank does not charge any fee. However, for ATM PIN generation, HDFC Bank charges Rs. 50 plus applicable taxes.

For any decline of transaction due to insufficient balance, HDFC Bank charges no additional fee for transactions made at its ATMs. For transactions declined for the same reason at non-HDFC Bank domestic ATMs as well as international ATMs and international merchant outlets or online stores, HDFC Bank charges a fee of Rs 25 plus applicable taxes. 

For savings and salary banks accounts, HDFC Bank provides five transactions a month free of cost at its ATMs. At ATMs of other banks, the free transactions are limited to three a month at metro ATMs and five a month at non-metro ATMs. 

Over and above these free transactions, HDFC Bank charges Rs 20 plus applicable taxes per cash withdrawal. For every non-financial transaction, HDFC Bank charges Rs 8.50/- plus applicable taxes.