I had wished to title this post as "The best Savings Bank account", but then I realized one size does not fit all that's why I am going to tell you how I went about choosing a savings bank account for myself. My criterion may or may not suit you.
Well, my search for a Savings Bank account began with 3 criterion in mind:
1. Debit Card: Free for life, specially no annual fees.
2. Debit Card: facility to use at all ATMs without any charges.
3. If possible, payable-at-par cheques all over India.
ICICI was immediately ruled out because at that time they didn't offer any account with zero annual fees for debit card ( except for senior citizens ). Most public sector banks ( except SBI and its associates ) had a non-existent ATM network. SBI and its associates offered ATM cards , but were loaded with annual fees. Axis bank too had annual fees for Debit Card.
But when I had a look at HDFC Savings Plus account, it looked like it was tailor-made for me. No annual fees for Debit Card, plus the facility to use the Debit Card at other bank ATMs without any charges ( 5 times in a month ). Additionally the payable-at-par cheque facility was also there. All I had to do was maintain a AQB of Rs. 10,000/-
And so I chose HDFC Savings Plus account.
After that RBI came out with circulars which made life much easier for me. As per RBI's instructions starting April 2008, there are no charges for balance enquiry at other bank ATMs throughout India and from April 2009 there are no charges for cash withdrawal as well. So if you want to cut down on your Debit card charges just make sure that its annual fees is zero which means:
1. You get your Debit card free for lifetime.
2. Also starting April 2009 you can do balance enquiry and cash withdrawal at all ATMs in India without any charges ( Thank RBI for the circular ).
Nowadays many banks offer savings account with free debit card. Some of them are ICICI Gold and Titanium privilege account, Kotak Mahindra Bank's Ace and Pro accounts, HDFC's Savings Plus and Savings Max account and South Indian Bank's Privilege Savings account.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Sir, can you please advice on the new Tata Capital NCD that is open now. Is it worth thinking of investing in the tune of few lakhs.
ReplyDeleteHi Ramesh,
ReplyDeleteNCD surely looks like a good offer. You can get upto 12% p.a. compounded annually for 5 years which translates into an yield of 11.5% p.a. compounded quarterly ( most Bank FDs are compounded quarterly ). It has a good enough safety ( backed by Tatas ).
Below are some of its features:
1. Call option at the end of 3 years. Tata Capital may choose to redeem the bond at end of 36 months. So you can't be sure you have locked-in the interest rates for a period of 5 years.
2. Issue is only in demat form.
3. Interest is taxable, but no TDS if held in demat form.
4. Liquidity: Traded on NSE or put option at the end of 3 years.
Also remember that Debt ranks higher than other sources of capital ( like equity or company deposits ), hence in case of bankruptcy of the company ( unlikely, but still ) you are given first preference in repayment.
ReplyDeletecan u guide start date for applying and min amount for apply also how can i apply means whats the process for that.....
ReplyDeleteThank you
ReplyDeleteHi anon,
ReplyDeletePlease read this blog post for details about Tata Capital NCD.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI was also looking for a good Savings account and i came accross Kotak Mahindra's saving Accounts. Can you do a comparison of it with the above mentioned HDFC Saving plus account.
Also, could you elaborate a little more on the Swweep In Sweep out feature for higher returns. In the HDFC account the threshold is set at 50K, while its much lower in the Kotak Mahindra's Account.
Thanks
Hi AJ,
ReplyDeleteSince my main criteria is a no-charges Debit card, I will compare HDFC Savings Plus with Kotak's Pro Account. I'm not considering Kotak Edge because Debit card is free only for first year.
HDFC Savings Plus has a lower AQB of Rs. 10,000/- only whereas in Kotak Pro the AQB is Rs. 20,000/-
Although Kotak Pro has a higher AQB, there are some advantages as well, like:
1. Unlimited transactions at other ATMs ( in HDFC Savings Plus 5 transactions in a month )
2. Cash deposit at other branches upto Rs. 50,000/- everyday without any charges.
If you need these facilities you should choose Kotak Pro. My usage of debit card ( at non-HDFC ATMs ) rarely exceeds once or twice in a month, hence I prefer HDFC Savings Plus.
One more reason why I like HDFC Savings Plus is because if you have a Fixed Depost of Rs. 50,000/- or more for a complete quarter there is no need to maintain AQB for that quarter.
It is effectively a zero-balance account for that quarter. There is no such facility in Kotak accounts.
But all the above analysis is of no use anymore, the HDFC Savings Plus has been discontinued from March 1, 2009. Hence you can no longer open new HDFC Savings Plus accounts.