Zero fee banking is revolutionising the banking experience around savings accounts with free banking services. It is weeding out hidden bank charges making things crystal clear. Find out how zero fee banking can work for you.

As an account holder, it is imperative that you are aware of every little detail relating to the bank and its regulations. Staying informed about the terms of your bank and all the bank charges keeps you conscious of where your money is going. This small habit can help you save on avoidable costs and significantly contribute to your savings in the long run.

Enter IDFC FIRST Bank Savings Accounts; thanks to the bank’s zero-fee banking, customers can save more and grow with their accounts. Let us understand this a little better.

How zero-fee banking works

Your savings account statement will be peppered with small numbers, a Rs 25 here, a Rs 137 there, and a Rs 4 somewhere in between. These could be transaction charges, chequebook issuance charges, and other bank fees. Most of us rarely bother about these inconsequential amounts unless we total them up at the end of the year.

With zero-fee banking, in most cases, almost all (or quite a few) commonly used banking services become free. The backbone of zero-fee banking is a combination of transparency, simplicity, and cost savings. If your savings account has zero-fee banking, you will have a clear picture of which services attract banking charges and which do not.

How zero-fee banking saves money

Although paid banking services vary from bank to bank, here are some of the more common ones where you would pay a certain fee -

• Cash handling – Cash transactions up to a certain limit may be free if carried out at the home branch. Beyond these limits, usually, a minimum of Rs 150 is charged per transaction.

• Fund transfer – RTGS and NEFT are now free, but an IMPS transfer can still have a service fee attached in many savings accounts ranging from Rs 2.5-15 per transaction.

• ATM – Many banks offer a fixed number of ATM withdrawals in a month. Beyond that, charges of Rs 8-20 are typically applicable, depending on the type of transaction.

• Alerts – Banks generally charge around 15p-50p per SMS for their SMS alert services.

• Documents – While soft copies of bank statements are free, a physical copy or a duplicate passbook can cost you up to Rs 100 each. Similarly, for the issuance of a new chequebook you will be charged Rs 2-4 per leaf.

IDFC FIRST Bank's zero-fee banking

IDFC FIRST Bank offers 28 commonly used banking services at ZERO cost. If you have an IDFC FIRST Bank Savings Account, the calculation of costs becomes easy. To know about the services offered at no cost, refer to this bank charges list -

• IMPS charges (outward)

• NEFT charges (outward at branches)

• RTGS charges (outward at branches)

• Cash deposit & withdrawal charges at branches (by number)

• Cash deposit & withdrawal charges at branches (by value)

• SMS alert charges

• Cheque book re-issuance charges

• Debit Card issuance charges (first year)

• ATM transaction charges

• Third party cash deposit and withdrawal charges at branches

• Demand draft/pay order issuance charges at branches

• Duplicate statement issuance charges

• Duplicate passbook issuance charges

• Balance certificate issuance charges

• Interest certificate issuance charges

• Account closure charges

• ECS return charges

• Stop payment of cheque charges

• International ATM/POS transaction charges

• Decline charges for insufficient balance at ATM

• Standing instruction charges

• Photo attestation charges

• Manager’s cheque/demand draft cancellation/revalidation charges

• Signature attestation charges

• Charges for retrieval of old transactional records

• Address confirmation charges

• Charges for any deliverable returned by courier due to negative reasons

• Cheque bounce charges

To sum up

Simplicity and clarity are the hallmarks of zero-fee banking. With this, zero-fee banking has kickstarted the next round of evolution in savings bank account customer experience. As a result, more and more people are choosing to open bank account with IDFC FIRST Bank, enjoying expense-free banking along with a highly attractive and competitive interest income which is among the bests in the industry and monthly interest credits.

Disclaimer: *IDFC FIRST Bank offers Zero Fee Banking on Rs 10,000 Average Monthly Balance (AMB) Savings Account and higher account variants, subject to maintenance of AMB in the account.

These services are being offered free in good faith, and in case of abuse, the bank reserves the right to charge fees as per market norms. All rights reserved.