From Basic Account To Accounts For Minors: SBI Accounts That Can Be Operated With Zero Balance

SBI or State Bank of India requires its savings account holders to meet its monthly average balance requirements. SBI, the country's largest bank, also provides certain types of bank accounts that do not require the customers to maintain any particular average of daily balances in a month. In other words, these bank accounts can be operated with zero balance. Basic savings bank deposit (BSBD) accounts, PMJDY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana) financial inclusion accounts, salary package accounts, and savings accounts for minors (Pehla Kadam and Pehli Udaan) are among these accounts, according to SBI's website - sbi.co.in.

Here's a comparison of three of the zero balance accounts provided by SBI:

Basic account

SBI's basic account provides an interest rate of 3.5 per cent on a balance up to Rs 1 crore and 4 per cent on a balance above Rs 1 crore, same as the savings bank account. The bank account requires the customer not to hold any other type of savings account with the bank, according to SBI. Customers already having a savings bank account are required to close the same within 30 days of opening the basic savings bank account. The bank account comes with a RuPay ATM-cum-debit card and allows a maximum of four withdrawals in a month.

Pehla Kadam and Pehli Udaan

State Bank of India (SBI) offers two types of savings accounts for minors: Pehla Kadam and Pehli Udaan. While the Pehla Kadam account can be opened in the name of an individual aged below 18 years, the Pehli Udaan account is meant for those are above 10 years of age, according to the SBI website. The Pehla Kadam account is operated jointly with the parent or guardian or singly by the parent or guardian, whereas the Pehli Udaan is operated singly. Both the bank accounts come with ATM-cum-debit cards with a withdrawal/PoS (Point of Sale) limit of Rs.5,000. Deposits in these bank accounts also earn the same interest rate as the regular savings account.

SBI however requires customers holding regular savings accounts to comply with its monthly average balance rules. 

SBI monthly average balance rules

Under the monthly average balance or MAB rules set by SBI, the bank's customers need to maintain an average balance of Rs 1,000-Rs 3,000 in a month in regular savings accounts. Failing to meet the MAB rules leads to penalty ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 15, depending on the degree of shortfall and location of branch, according to the SBI website.

In case of a default in maintenance of the required monthly average balance, the bank notifies the customer by ways such as SMS, email and letter. The penalty charges are applied in case the required balance is not restored in the account within a month from the date of notice, according to SBI. "In case the minimum balance is not restored within a reasonable period, which shall not be less than one month from the date of notice of shortfall, penal charges may be recovered under intimation to the account holder," SBI explains.