New Bank account; which bank to choose?

Sarath

iDota
I have recently started buying a few games online but am doing transactions in the 90's style of going to the bank and making a deposit. I want to take advantages of the NEFT transfer facilities and debit card shopping that is becoming the norm these days. Hence I have decided to open a bank account.

Kindly suggest me a good bank to open a bank account in

However there area few points that bear mentioning:
~ I am a student
~ Account should need a min maintenance of 500rs or 1000 at most
~ It should have the features mentioned above; NEFT mainly

Preferably: (closer to home /college)
HDFC
SBI
SBM
Axis

last preference to ICICI
rest below this

P.S.: I already have an account in HDFC but that is handled by my dad for high value transactions. I do not want to use it for my online transactions even if I could.
 

krishnandu.sarkar

Simply a DIGITian
Staff member
I'd suggest SBI, as I don't think you'll be able to afford min. QAB for other private banks(as already mentioned by you).
 
OP
Sarath

Sarath

iDota
Even I was thinking SBI since I heard they have a low quaterly avg balance.

BTW is bank of India any good? It is the easiest for me to get as my college has direct affiliation to it. Infact I can just walk in with a letter and have my account.
 

Skud

Super Moderator
Staff member
You will be valued more in BoI than SBI as a customer. It is a pretty large bank and good overall, but no idea regarding technological implementation and whether support services are competent enough. SBI is a safe bet. The internet banking is one of the easiest and clutter free experience amongst half a dozen I have seen/used. One problem may be the Maestro debit card they give. Insist on a VISA Debit card, if you want. QAB is 1k in all nationalized bank. For most private banks, its at least 5k.
 
OP
Sarath

Sarath

iDota
AQB is a big problem. Even SBI shows 5k. My HDFC is 10k already.

I think the student accounts are indeed 500rs some places but I am not sure if they have NEFT facility. Most of my friends don't even have a cheque book.

I need this account for purely making transactions online. I am not really bothered about the debit card / passbook / chequebook etc. But thanks for pointing it out. you never know :D

I wanted to ask this and forgot:

Does it matter which bank I have an account in, if someone is making a NEFT transfer and my Bank is listed in the RBI list?

If answer is yes, then am I right in assuming that there is no difference between ICICI, HDFC or Bank of Indian and smaller banks?

And all banks listed in the RBI list for NEFT are equal?
 

Skud

Super Moderator
Staff member
No need to worry about Debit Card I guess, as they quit Maestro, now they only provide VISA / Master Card.

You sure about that?


AQB is a big problem. Even SBI shows 5k. My HDFC is 10k already.

I think the student accounts are indeed 500rs some places but I am not sure if they have NEFT facility. Most of my friends don't even have a cheque book.

I need this account for purely making transactions online. I am not really bothered about the debit card / passbook / chequebook etc. But thanks for pointing it out. you never know :D

I wanted to ask this and forgot:

Does it matter which bank I have an account in, if someone is making a NEFT transfer and my Bank is listed in the RBI list?

If answer is yes, then am I right in assuming that there is no difference between ICICI, HDFC or Bank of Indian and smaller banks?

And all banks listed in the RBI list for NEFT are equal?


Yeah, no difference. And the max they charge per transaction is Rs 5/-. :D Its a RBI norm.
 

krishnandu.sarkar

Simply a DIGITian
Staff member
No, not 100%, but I heard that SBI now provides VISA / Master Card debit card.

If by default you don't get them, get Yuva Debit Card. It's a Visa / Master Card debit card, free for persons upto age of 30.
 

clmlbx

Technomancer
Well For what I know u need to maintain 5000/ quaterly minimum balance in HDFC and Axis(account without annual fee).. If you take that 500 account then you need to pay some annual Fee.

even in SBI You can open account with 500 but without Cheque Book. and 1000 with Cheque Book.. But What I have heard that Their internet Banking is ****..Not worth it.. and then I Visited once SBI To open/enquire about new account and I felt that their customer service is also **** at least in here Branch.. .

I have used ICICI and Axis, I love their Services. but problems come with their minimum Balance.. but u should look for current account (if any how u can open it). then u can have account with no balance too.
 

Skud

Super Moderator
Staff member
Well For what I know u need to maintain 5000/ quaterly minimum balance in HDFC and Axis(account without annual fee).. If you take that 500 account then you need to pay some annual Fee.

even in SBI You can open account with 500 but without Cheque Book. and 1000 with Cheque Book.. But What I have heard that Their internet Banking is ****..Not worth it.. and then I Visited once SBI To open/enquire about new account and I felt that their customer service is also **** at least in here Branch.. .

I have used ICICI and Axis, I love their Services. but problems come with their minimum Balance.. but u should look for current account (if any how u can open it). then u can have account with no balance too.


Not really. ;)
 
OP
Sarath

Sarath

iDota
I think I will have to stick with my existing HDFC Savings acc for a while. But I will never be comfortable using it.

I will open an account in Bank Of India, just for the heck of it. Its cheap and college affiliated :D

Thinking of SBI for my use as it looks good in all ways. Will check it out in a few days. Most of my friends have no clue of their SBI accs as all were opened by parents. :?
 

abhinavmail1

MW3>BF3
Try to open account with some nationalised bank as the private banks have some hidden terms and conditions,they deduct your balance every now and than.i my self have an account with ING Vysaya bank so i am telling u with my own experience . Btw why my previous post in this thread is deleted?
 

Anish

Spectre
Thinking of SBI for my use as it looks good in all ways. Will check it out in a few days. Most of my friends have no clue of their SBI accs as all were opened by parents. :?

+1 here. Its very easy. I got my atm (master card) the very day i opened the account and deposited the minimum cash.
BTW, if you need cheque book facility, the min balance = 1000INR otherwise its 500INR in SBI.

To Summarise, I myself went one day and got my account opened and got atm card (paid 1000 deposit)

Another day, I went and activated net banking... matter of 1-2hours.
 
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