Zero Balance savings account is a savings account facility to encourage the people to open a savings account, with no requirement to maintain a minimum balance. The banks provide all the usual facilities to the customers that come with
a regular savings account. This account comes with a host of facilities such as free passbook, easy transaction, ATM and debit card access, no minimum balance requirement, mobile and net banking, payment gateway, locker facilities, etc.
a regular savings account. This account comes with a host of facilities such as free passbook, easy transaction, ATM and debit card access, no minimum balance requirement, mobile and net banking, payment gateway, locker facilities, etc.
1. All the banks are mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to offer this facility to the customers. This account can be used as a secondary account to manage the regular savings bank account in a more efficient way.
2. The rate of interest on this account is the same as that on the regular savings account. All the regular savings account features such as deposit, withdrawal of cash at bank branches as well as ATMs, cheque book and online fund transfer, etc.
3. According to the RBI guidelines, banks are not allowed to impose restrictions such as age and income criteria on the individuals who open BSBDA (Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account). An existing savings account cannot be converted into BSBDA. An individual can open only one BSBDA in a bank. If a customer holds a regular savings account, it has to be closed within 30 days from the opening of the BSBDA.
4. The central bank has not put any restrictions on the number of withdrawals and deposits, but banks will allow only four withdrawals from the savings account. The withdrawals include ATM, RTGS, NEFT, branch cash withdrawals, EMIs, standing instructions, etc.
5. Some banks offer different types of zero-balance accounts based on the customer's requirements and they may offer safe deposit locker facilities. State Bank of India offers five types of zero balance savings account i.e. Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD), Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Pehla Kadam and Pehli Udaan savings account for minors, salary account and pension account.
