RBI increases number of free and basic minimum facilities in BSBD accounts

RBI increases number of basic minimum facilities to be offered in a Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) account, free of charge, without any requirement of minimum balance

What is a BSBDA Account?

The Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) Account (also often referred to as Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA)) was formally introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 10 August 2012. From that date, existing “no-frills” accounts were to be treated as BSBD/BSBDA, and all new zero-balance/basic facilities savings accounts opened thereafter would be under the BSBD scheme.

It is to be noted that BSBD Accounts are different from account opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).

A Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) Account is a no-frills savings account designed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to promote financial inclusion by offering essential banking services at minimal or zero charges

The Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) Account is designed as a savings account to provide affordable banking facilities to the public at large. Every bank shall offer a BSBD account which shall be considered a normal banking service available to all. 

The RBI has issued fresh directions providing that all banks shall offer the following basic minimum facilities in a BSBD account, free of charge, without any requirement of minimum balance to be maintained in such an account. 

(1) Deposit of cash.

(2) Receipt of money through any electronic channel or deposit / collection of cheques.

(3) No limit on number and value of deposits that can be made in a month.

(4) ATM Card or ATM-cum-Debit Card. Further, no charges shall be levied towards annual fee, either at the time of issuance or renewal. 

(5) Cheque book with minimum 25 cheque leaves per year. 

(6) Internet and mobile banking facility.

(7) Passbook or monthly statement of account in lieu of passbook, either in print or by email, as per request of the account holder. Further, issuance of a continuation passbook, on exhaustion of the pages in the previous passbook, shall not attract any charge.

(8) Minimum of four free withdrawals, including transfers and ATM transactions (done either at the bank’s own ATM or another bank’s ATM), in a month. Digital payment transactions excluding ATM transactions, i.e., Point of Sale transfers, NEFT, RTGS, UPI, IMPS, etc., shall not be counted as withdrawals for this purpose. The charges on digital payment transactions shall be in accordance with guidelines issued by Department of Payment and Settlement Systems, Reserve Bank / National Payments Corporation of India / Government of India, as applicable.

The facilities of ATM / ATM-cum-Debit card or internet / mobile banking or cheque book shall be offered to a customer provided he / she requests for the same, whether at the time of opening the account or subsequently. A bank shall not insist that a customer necessarily avails these facilities while opening and/ or operating the BSBD account. 

In the case of existing BSBD accounts, a bank shall extend the newly introduced free facilities at clause (5) to (7) of paragraph 86 above upon receipt of a request from the customer. The bank shall facilitate existing BSBD account holders to submit such requests through physical as well as digital channels.

A bank may provide additional facilities beyond the above minimum in a BSBD account, with or without charges, in a non-discretionary and nondiscriminatory manner with transparent disclosure to the customer. However, while doing so, the bank shall not require the customer to maintain a minimum balance in the BSBD account. The availment of such additional facilities shall be at the option of the customer.

Opening and operation of BSBD accounts shall be subject to the instructions on Know Your Customer / Anti Money Laundering issued by the Reserve Bank Further, BSBD accounts opened by or operated on behalf of minors shall be subject to the instructions.

A bank, while opening a BSBD account, shall not impose any requirement of an initial minimum deposit. 

A customer may convert his / her existing savings bank account to a BSBD account. The bank shall convert the existing savings bank account to BSBD account within seven days of receipt of request in writing from the customer for such conversion. Such an option shall also be provided to customers through digital channels.

The holder of a BSBD account shall not be eligible to open another BSBD account in the same bank or any other bank. Accordingly, before opening a new BSBD account or converting an existing savings bank account to a BSBD account, the bank shall obtain a declaration from the customer that he / she does not have a BSBD account in any bank.

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