About two months ago, the Reserve Bank of India had imposed a fine of Rs 91 lakh on Yes Bank. The Reserve Bank did this because Yes Bank had earned this money by wrongly charging people for not maintaining the minimum balance.
Minimum Balance Rules: Recently, the data of the Finance Ministry has shown that 11 public sector banks of the country have earned Rs 2331 crore from those who did not maintain the minimum balance on savings bank account in FY24. If we talk about FY23, then during that period the banks had earned a total of Rs 1855.43 crore. That is, the earnings of these banks have increased by about 25.63 percent. These 11 banks have earned a total of Rs 5614 crore so far from those who did not maintain the minimum balance in the last 3 years. A big question here is whether it is right to do this or not? Let us know what are the RBI rules regarding minimum balance.
About two months ago, the Reserve Bank of India had imposed a fine of Rs 91 lakh on Yes Bank. The Reserve Bank did this because Yes Bank had earned this money by charging people wrongly for not maintaining the minimum balance. Let us tell you that many banks impose some penalty if the balance in the account is less than a minimum limit. This charge varies between Rs 400-500 for different banks. But have you ever thought that if all the money is withdrawn from such accounts and the bank imposes a penalty, then your balance will become negative. So can someone’s account balance also go negative? Let’s know about it.
What instructions has the Reserve Bank given?
As per the instructions of the Reserve Bank of India, it is necessary for all the banks to ensure that the balance does not become negative due to penalty for not maintaining minimum balance in any account. However, this does not mean at all that the customer will not have to pay the penalty for not maintaining the minimum balance. Now again the same question arises that if penalty is imposed then the minimum balance will become negative.
It is necessary to inform the customers
The Reserve Bank of India had issued a circular on 20 November 2014 regarding this. According to this, all the banks cannot charge the customer due to his trouble and lack of attention. Banks will have to inform the customers immediately as soon as the account goes below the minimum balance. It is also necessary for the banks to inform their customers about the charges levied in such a situation, so that they can take necessary steps in time.
The account should be converted to a basic account
According to the circular of the Reserve Bank, instead of imposing penalty on such accounts, the banks should limit the facilities provided on it. Also, the banks should convert such accounts to basic accounts. At the same time, when the balance in the customer’s account again exceeds the minimum balance, it should be restored to a regular account.
Understand the minimum balance as well
If you open a savings account in any bank, some banks keep a minimum balance limit. That is, you have to keep at least that much money in that account which has been fixed, like 10 thousand rupees. If your minimum balance is less than this, then you have to pay a penalty. However, if the balance becomes zero, then as per the rules of the Reserve Bank, penalty cannot be imposed on it, because this will make the account negative.
