SBI denies levying charges on all withdrawals

Soon after reports surfaced of Rs. 25 charge on cash withdrawals, the State Bank of India on Thursday denied the same, stating that the charges were only applicable on withdrawals made by the State Bank Buddy through ATMs.

Drawing attention to the circular published on the bank's website, an SBI spokesperson clarified that the charges were restricted solely to the State Bank Buddy customers, and not all users.

"Rs. 25 per transaction is charged for withdrawing from the State Bank Buddy through ATMs. All ATM transactions are not chargeable. Charges are applicable only for State Bank Buddy using ATM (This is applicable only for State Bank Buddy Customer)," the spokesperson said.

Furthermore, the SBI also clarified that the limit of four ATM withdrawals in a month was only applicable to the Basic Savings Banks deposit account.

"All normal Savings bank accounts will continue to get eight free ATM transactions (five SBI ATMs + three other bank ATMs) in metropolitan cities and ten free transactions in other cities (five SBI ATM + five other Bank ATMs) free apart from the bank transaction," the spokesperson clarified.

Earlier in the day, a hue and cry was created in the Kerala Assembly in Thiruvanathapuram over reports of a service fee to the extent of Rs. 25 being charged on all withdrawals, effective June 1.

Criticising the SBI over the 'unbelievable' hike, Kerala's Finance Minister T. M. Thomas Isaac said the largest lender cannot take its customers 'for granted'.

"The only reason for this unbelievable hike could be the enormous amount of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) worth Rs. 1.67 lakh crore," he said.

Lashing out at the corporate sector, Isaac asserted that 'diligent lending' to the corporate had also affected the scarcity of money in banks.

"The Central Government must overlook the monetary policies to prevent people from hoarding money, which can lead to scarcity," he added.