Axis Bank increases average balance requirement, and other charges from May 1 2021

Axis Bank has hiked various service charges for its savings bank account holders with effect from 1 May 2021.

The private sector lender has increased cash withdrawal charges from ATM beyond the free limit. It has increased the minimum balance requirements for various types of savings accounts.

Axis Bank allows four free transactions or cash withdrawals of up to ₹2 lakh in a month, whichever is earlier. Once the limit is breached, the bank charges ₹5 per ₹1,000 withdrawn, subject to a minimum of ₹150 per transaction.

From May 1, the charges would double. For every ₹1,000 withdrawn, you will now pay ₹10 or ₹150, whichever is higher, for cash withdrawals from the savings account.

The average balance requirement threshold for Easy Savings schemes at metro locations is revised from ₹10,000 to ₹15,000.

For the Prime and Liberty savings accounts in semi-urban/rural areas, the average monthly balance threshold is ₹25,000, up from ₹15,000 earlier.

Any failure in maintaining these limits would attract a penalty of ₹10 per ₹100 of the shortfall. However, the bank has reduced the minimum charges under this head to ₹50, down from ₹150 before.

Salary accounts that are more than 6-months-old and do not receive any credit (by any credit mode via cash, transfer, clearing, digital, etc.) in a calendar month will be levied a fee of ₹100 per month.

One-time Fee on no transactions for 18-24 months in Savings account. Accounts in which there have been no transactions for a continuous period of 17 months will attract a one-time fee of ₹100 in the 18th month.

For services like Update PAN/Form 60 details, Update Date of Birth, address change, Update email ID, Transfer accountant others, a fee of ₹100 per instance would be levied for placing the request through Branches.

Due to a recent change by the telecom regulator, Axis Bank has also recalibrated its SMS charges.

Instead of charging a flat fee of ₹5 every month, it will now charge 25 paise for every SMS alert, subject to a maximum of ₹25 per month, effective July 1

The revised charges of Axis Bank are now higher compared to what HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank levy.

The maximum charge for non-maintenance of minimum balance is Rs 600 at HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank (for pro and ace) savings accounts.

The average monthly balance required at HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank (for edge and classic) savings accounts is Rs 10,000.