Banks charge extra for deposit over 1000 notes

From now if you have to deposit a big amount in cash in the bank then be ready to pay extra. According to the new SBI rules, Rs 100 will be charged for every 1,000 notes, irrespective of denomination, over the limit of 1,000 notes.

Recently such incidence was reported when Madan Joshi, a scrap dealer at Howrah's Bajrang Market, got a rude shock when he went to deposit Rs 2,00,000 in cash - a routine he has been following several times a month for a long time in his account at the Belur branch of the State Bank of India. The cashier at the bank accepted the cash, but charged him Rs 200 for counting them, and this sound very unusual. "I was told that from now on, if I deposit such big amounts in cash, I will have to be prepared to pay extra. But why should this happen?" Joshi asked.

Joshi told, "I was told that I should make it a habit to pay in cheques if I have to avoid paying this extra counting charge from now on".

"I am extremely upset with the new system, as for businessmen like us, who need to withdraw and deposit cash all the time, it would mean losing a lot of money!" he was disappointed at this. Therefore if you are a businessman like Joshi and used to transact large amounts of cash across the counter, then be prepare to pay extra as banks have started levying charges on cash deposits in current accounts.

"If somebody deposits more than 1,000 notes of any denomination, then he has to pay handling charges," an SBI official said.

As per the his information few months back he received a circular from the SBI corporate centre on levying cash handling charges on cash deposits in current accounts. Giving details about the process, the official said that the bank does not levy charges up to 1,000 notes. So, if a customer deposits Rs 1 lakh with 1,000 notes of Rs 100, he does not have to pay any charges. But if the notes are of Rs 50 denomination, the depositor has to pay Rs 100 as counting charges.

"For each additional 1,000 notes over the specified limit will attract a charge of Rs 100. We generally do this to discourage huge cash transactions. The bank has to depute huge manpower for computation and supervision of fake notes. The counting machine can count notes but cannot differentiate between fake and soiled notes," he said.

The officials of Axis Bank and HDFC Bank also informed that they have started charging cash handling charges for current accounts. When it was inquired from a top RBI official he told that it has given some flexibility to the banks in the areas of cash handling and management a few months back. "The bank can levy cash handling charges if they want to do so. This is up to the bank," he added.