Axis Bank increase charges for cash withdrawals, SMS alerts

Axis Bank has updated its service charges for savings bank account customers, effective 1st May 2021. The private sector lender has raised ATM withdrawal fees above the free cap. It has also raised the minimum balance requirements for different forms of savings accounts while decreasing the minimum charge for non-balance maintenance.

The bank has lowered its transaction fees for certain services such as signature authentication and photo attestation. Beginning 1st July, the lender would charge a higher fee for sending SMS alerts to its customers.

Previously, the bank charged a service fee of Rs 15 per quarter for sending SMS notifications on a subscription basis. This fee structure will be in effect until June 30. From July 1, the bank will charge 25 paise per SMS, with a monthly limit of Rs 25.

The lender mentioned that promotional SMS and OTP notifications are exempt from charges. Some accounts, according to the bank's website, are exempt from SMS service charges. Burgundy, Burgundy Private, Priority, NRI, Trust & Government Accounts, Defense Salary Accounts, Staff Accounts, Small & Basic Accounts, Pension Accounts, and Select Salary relationships are among the accounts available.

Banks are allowed by RBI guidelines to submit certain mandatory SMS notifications for debit card, ATM cash withdrawals, NEFT and RTGS transactions once funds are credited to the beneficiary account. As a result, these SMSs are free of charge. All other transactions are subject to a fee under RBI regulations.

Axis Bank currently charges Rs 5 for every Rs 1,000 withdrawal or Rs 150, whichever is greater, in addition to the free withdrawals. From May 1st, cash withdrawals in excess of the free limit will be paid at a rate of Rs 10 per Rs 1,000 or Rs 150, whichever is greater.

Effective from 1st May, the bank has raised the average balance requirement threshold for Easy Savings schemes in metro areas from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per account.

Furthermore, the current Prime variant balance condition criteria (Digital Prime, Savings Domestic and Non-resident Prime, and Liberty schemes) has been revised to Rs 25,000 Average Monthly Balance (AMB) or Rs 1 lakh term deposit.