If one were to calculate Rs 60-70 SMS charges from each customer, there are approximately more or less 5 crore bank accounts across the country. The total amount stands at mammoth 3,00,000,00,00.
Nagpur News: The more money you deposit in your bank accounts more lesser it would be. Even you withdraw money your account would show less amount apart from the withdrawn amount. The reason: The banks have decided to deduct the specific amount from your accounts as recovery of SMS services provided by your banks. And the decision has been implemented instantly i.e. from July 1. So next time whether you withdraw or deposit you would be poorer by Rs 60-70 per year on SMS front.
The private banks have started recovering SMS charges on every service. However, now even State Bank of India and the Punjab National Bank, too, have started charging account-holders Rs 60-70 over SMS services. The largest public sector bank, SBI, has decided to recover Rs 15 quarterly from its account-holders. The PNB has also followed suit. Both the banks have started recovering SMS charges from old and new customers as well from July 1. The only solace the Punjab National Bank has provided is it will not recover SMS charges from senior citizens, its present and retired employees, and students.
The practice of sending bulk SMSes to customers has been adopted by all private banks and the nationalized banks. However, since the mobile phone companies have hiked charges for bulk SMSes the banks were suffering losses in the SMS service to the customers. The hiked SMS charges by companies forced banks recover the charges from the customers, said an SBI official. The official elaborated that previously the mobile companies were charging 2-3 paise for bulk SMSes but now the companies are charging 25-30 paise leaving no option for banks to recover the SMS charges from customers.
SMS SERVICE OPTIONAL : The alert SMS service is optional. If the customers want to stop alert SMS service they can do it by formally informing the banks in this regard. However, the banks anticipate that no customer would stop this service after considering hundreds of frauds committed by persons with cheating motives. The alert SMS service keeps the customers informed about any transaction. Therefore, the customers would not mind recovery of SMS charges, opined some banking experts.
If one were to calculate Rs 60-70 SMS charges from each customer, there are approximately more or less 5 crore bank accounts across the country. The total amount stands at mammoth 3,00,000,00,00.
