It is necessary for everyone to have these three things in handy. Aadhar Card, PAN Card, and Bank account. Every government scheme is interlinked with Aadhar Card and Bank Account and if you don’t possess these, you will definitely have to repent later. The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) has played the main role for the government to implement the populous schemes. The Pradhan Mantri Yojanas and other government schemes depend on the bank account if there is any remuneration involved in it.
Though people opened Jan Dhan accounts which are basically zero balance accounts and for which the Government of India holds a Guinness record, there are people who have bank accounts in popular banks like State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank. Despite working with the bank for several years, the account holders will be unaware of the charges levied on them. According to recent reports, the State Bank of India has collected a sum of 300 crore rupees whereas the public sector lending bank, Punjab National Bank has collected 9.9 Crores from their account holders. These charges are levied on them because of Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA).
What do the research studies say?
The news is not good for the depositors. The banks like State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank have been charging excessive dues from their account holders in the due process. According to research by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, State Bank of India charging 17.7 rupees for more than four transactions in a BSBDA account is not reasonable. Also, the reports suggest that SBI has collected 300 crore rupees from the likes of 12 crore accounts in the last five years. State Bank of India decided to collect the fine from the BSBDA accounts from 2015 onwards.
The charges are being collected even from the digital services as well. That is, if the fifth transaction is NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, or UPI payment, there also, a sum of 17.70 is charged from the user. This has been in force since 2013 for the Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account.
Why did things change?
When the Prime Minister of the nation, Narendra Modi decided to scrap the old notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 denomination along with the Reserve Bank of India, the digital payments got a required push to enhance their footprints in a country like India. The cities adjusted to the online payments soon whereas the semiurban and villages took a while, but adjusted to it at the earliest. On the other hand, the State Bank of India deprived its own users by charging an excessive amount for a transaction. Even the ATM transaction comes with an exorbitant charge of 40 rupees after a certain number of withdrawals.
RBI is also to be blamed for this!!!
Reserve Bank of India has allowed the victimization of these account holders. The Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account holders are being exploited by the banks and the Reserve Bank of India remained lull on this. The study claimed that:
“Although not by intent, but in practice RBI has allowed victimisation of these BSBDA customers despite being duty-bound to protect them. Two of its specialised departments – the ‘Consumer Education and Protection Department’ and the ‘Financial Inclusion and Development Department’ – allowed this to continue over years even though RBI regulations for “ensuring reasonableness of service charges” were in place”
However, the depositors are provided with some respite. The depositors approached the Union Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India for the extra amount charged on the transaction. The Government of India has ordered the bank to return the extra money deducted from the account since January 2020. This order was released on August 2020 from the Union Government of India.
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