Know Thy Fees: Bank Charges Hurt

“It is easier to rob by setting up a bank than by holding up a bank clerk” -Bertolt Brecht   Well, the German playwright’s words hold true for even today’s time when banks, whether government or private, continue to levy charges for the services that they offer. Yes. While we engage in banking transactions almost every other day, we hardly realise the price we are paying to avail those services. Both, public and private sector banks charge certain percentage from their customers in lieu of the services they provide. Nowadays, banks permit individual account-holders to deposit and withdraw cash only a few times in a month. Beyond that, a certain amount of money is charged by the bank. These bank charges have been in the news for some time now. From April to November 2018, India’s biggest public sector bank, the State Bank of India (SBI), earned Rs1,772...