State Bank of India (SBI) has issued an important notification and amended the rules for its account holders. The bank has informed that if a customer withdraws money more than four times from an SBI branch, a fee may be charged.
According to the new provisions, only the first four transactions withdrawn from the branch are now free; a fee will apply from the fifth transaction. This new rule will be effective from October 1, 2026.
As per ET's report, SBI has informed account holders that these changes will not apply to all account holders. This service charge will only apply to the Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) account. If you have this account, you can make only four free withdrawals from the bank branch in a month; withdrawing more than that will incur a charge.
According to the official SBI website, previously there were four free withdrawals per month, which included facilities such as SBI ATMs, other banks' ATMs, branch withdrawals, and micro ATMs. However, digital transactions like UPI, NEFT, RTGS, IMPS were excluded from this exemption. Under the new changes, this free withdrawal is limited to the first four transactions from the branch channel.
However, this does not mean that a fee will be charged from the first transaction when withdrawing money from an ATM under this account. The new rules do not include SBI ATMs, other banks' ATMs, branch withdrawals, and micro ATMs, so the old rules will remain applicable to these.
From October 1, 2026, GST will also be levied on additional cash withdrawals after the first four free withdrawals during branch withdrawals, at Rs 15 per transaction.
Basic savings accounts primarily target the poor sections of society to encourage them to start saving without the burden of any charges or fees. There is no requirement to maintain a minimum balance in this account. However, a chequebook facility is not available in this account. Withdrawals can only be made using a withdrawal form at branches or through ATMs. The account holder is provided with a Basic RuPay ATM-cum-Debit Card.
This account is for SBI customers who have opened this basic savings bank account, and such customers should not have any other savings account. If customers already have another savings account, they must close it within 30 days of opening the Basic Savings Bank Deposit account.