State Bank Of India (SBI) New Interest Rates, Charges, Minimum Balance Requirements Explained

SBI or State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, offers a solution to most banking needs. SBI offers savings, recurring and fixed deposit (FD) accounts to its 42.42 crore customers as on March 31, 2018. SBI also offers zero balance savings accounts, which do not require any particular minimum balance to be maintained by the customer. Besides, SBI also offers a savings accounts facility across its metro, urban, semi-urban and rural branches. Minimum balance requirements and penalties across all these savings accounts vary depending on branch location.

Given below is everything that you may want to know about popular SBI (State Bank of India) services:

SBI monthly average balance (MAB) or minimum balance requirements in savings accounts

SBI requires its savings bank account customers to maintain an average monthly balance in the range of Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 3,000 across its four types of branches: urban, rural, semi-urban and metro. If the customer holds a savings bank account at an SBI branch located in a metropolitan city, he or she is required to maintain an average monthly balance of Rs. 3,000 and above, according to SBI's corporate website, sbi.co.in. Similarly, in semi-urban and rural SBI branches, savings bank account holders are required to maintain a minimum balance - or average monthly balance - of Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 1,000 respectively.

SBI penalty for insufficient balance
If a customer fails to maintain this monthly average balance, SBI charges a penalty from him or her. The amount of penalty varies on the basis of branch location.

For SBI accounts in metro and urban branches: Customers who maintain a balance equal to or less than Rs. 1,500 are charged Rs. 10 per month plus the applicable GST (Goods and Services Tax) rate. If their average monthly balance is less than 50-75 per cent of the required monthly balance, they will have to pay Rs. 12 per month plus GST. If the balance falls below 75 per cent of Rs. 3,000, SBI charges a penalty of Rs. 15 per month plus GST.

For SBI accounts in semi-urban branches: If your average monthly balance falls short by up to or less than Rs. 1,000 of Rs. 2,000, SBI charges Rs. 7.50 per month plus GST. If your monthly average balance is less than 50-75 per cent of Rs. 2,000, the penalty levied is Rs. 10 per month plus GST. If the minimum average balance falls short of 75 per cent, the charge is Rs. 12 plus GST.

For SBI accounts in rural branches: If your average monthly balance falls short by up to or less than Rs. 500 of Rs. 1,000, the penalty levied is Rs. 20 per month plus GST. If the shortfall in average monthly balance is less than 50-75 per cent, SBI charges Rs. 7.50 plus GST. If the shortfall is less than 75 per cent, SBI levies a penalty of Rs. 10 plus GST.

Fixed deposit interest rates (FD interest rates) of SBI on deposits below Rs 1 crore

The following FD interest rates are applicable for general public on retail fixed deposits (below Rs 1 crore) with effect from Monday:

(All figures in % per annum)

The following FD interest rates are applicable for senior citizens on retail fixed deposits (below Rs 1 crore) with effect from 30.07.2018

(All figures in % per annum)

SBI zero balance account
SBI offers a basic savings bank deposit account facility under which there is no requirement for maintenance of any minimum balance. This means that even if customers have insufficient balance in this account, no penalty will be levied on them.

SBI also offers digital savings and insta savings accounts which can be opened via its YONO app. Both of them have zero minimum balance requirements under special offers.

Recurring deposit (RD) interest rates of SBI

Recurring deposit or RD interest rates of SBI are the same as that on FDs. Thus, fresh recurring deposit interest rates of SBI kicked in from Monday.

SBI savings account interest rates
For saving deposits balance up to Rs 1 crore, SBI deposits fetch an interest rate of 3.50 per cent per annum while saving deposits balance above Rs 1 crore, fetch 4 per annum.

SBI debit card charges
If customers lose their debit card and need a fresh one, SBI charges Rs. 300 (plus GST) as debit card replacement charges, according to the bank's website.