The State Bank of India (SBI), a public sector bank in India, is set to change its rules, which will directly affect its customers. These changes take effect at the beginning of next month, specifically on October 1, and may come as an unwelcome surprise to users.
SBI plans to adjust the limit for free ATM transactions and associated charges for its customers. This information was updated on the bank's website regarding changes that will occur from the first day of next month, October 1, 2026.
According to SBI, new charges will be effective from October 1 for Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) accounts opened through a bank branch. Although customers will retain the service of four free transactions per month, every subsequent operation will incur a fee of 15 rupees plus GST. Furthermore, SBI is changing how these four free transactions are counted, including operations conducted through the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS), which were previously not included in the monthly limit.
It is important to know what an AePS transaction is. It is an Aadhaar-based payment system that allows users to make digital payments using only their Aadhaar number and biometric authentication, without needing a debit card, PIN, or password.
Changes are also coming into effect for SBI salary account holders from October 1. Their monthly limit for free ATM operations will be halved. Previously, SBI salary account holders could perform 10 free ATM transactions, but this number is now reduced to five.
When reviewing the SBI ATM Rule Change for salary account holders, it should be noted that, in addition to reducing the cash withdrawal limit, it has been clarified that these five free transactions will include both financial and non-financial operations. This means the limit includes not only cash withdrawals but also non-financial services such as balance inquiries or mini-statements via ATM.
According to the bank's website data, if a salary account holder performs an operation after exhausting the free limit, they will have to pay 23 rupees plus GST for each cash withdrawal from the sixth transaction in a month. For non-financial operations, the charge will be 11 rupees plus GST after reaching the free limit.