the goan I network
PANAJI
Private sector banks officials, including HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank in Goa are awaiting formal communication from their respective head offices so as to offer clarity to their customers on the levy of a minimum charge of Rs 150 per transaction for cash deposits and withdrawals beyond four free transactions in a month.
HDFC Bank’s branches along 18th June road and Patto in Panaji as well as the Margao branch informed that they have yet to receive an official communiqué from the bank’s head office.
Similarly, the ICICI Bank branches near the forest department office and at Patto in Panaji said that they have not received any circular informing them about the details of the bank policy.
Acknowledging the reports which had appeared in a section of the national media, staff members at the Axis Bank branch near Mahalaxmi Temple in Panaji stated that they expect to receive the details of the bank circular only by Friday.
Incidentally, public sector bank officials termed the levy of charges for transactions as a ‘policy initiative’ of only certain private sector banks and that the policy has not been adopted by the public sector.
According to reports, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have begun charging Rs 150 per transaction in home branchws while Rs 5 per thousand rupees would be charged thereafter subject to a minimum of Rs 150 in the same month.
While the HDFC circular has capped third party cash transactions at Rs 25,000 per day, ICICI has limited these transactions to Rs 50,000 per day.
HDFC has not levied any charges on deposit of cash.
ICICI Bank has also stated that it will not charge the first cash withdrawal of a calendar month from a non-home branch.
However, transactions from non-home branches will be charged thereafter.
In addition to this, ICICI will also charge deposits at Rs 5 per thousand rupees or a minimum of Rs 150 at branches and deposit at cash acceptance machine would be free of charge only for the first cash deposit of a calendar month.
Axis Bank has declared that the first five transactions, Rs 10 lakhs of cash deposits and withdrawals will be free while the charges will apply thereafter.
