Nowadays, banks, whether private or public, work to cater the needs of all people, ranging from senior citizens, women to children and zero balance account. Therefore, everyone who wish to save for the future and rainy days can get their account open by selecting from the different types of Savings Accounts explained below.
Also, it shall be noted that one of the major benefits of opening a saving account is to get tax-free interest up to Rs 10000 under the provisions of section 80TTA of the Income Tax Act 1961.
In this learning article, we shall learn about the different kinds of Savings Account, together with their respective features and facilities.
Features of a Savings Accounts
The features a Savings Account can be summarised as:
- Savings Accounts allow a salaried individual to save for his/ her future by using his/ her regular monthly net income;
- Allows earning of interest over deposits;
- Prescribes no upper limit for which an individual can hold a Savings Account;
- Provides Interest Facilities to allow the account holders to verify their balance, request a cheque book, initiate a fund transfer, get detailed bank statement, etc.;
- Customers can even make purchases from their respective savings account;
- Purchases can be made either by using Debit Cards, Credit Card, or Online on Merchant Websites;
- For customers who do not wish to undergo the hassle of maintaining a minimum required balance can opt for the option of a zero-balance savings account;
- Customers can save their short-term savings in this type of account;
- Customers can even enroll in the PPF Scheme (Public Provident Fund) by way of their savings account;
- Specifies no upper limit to the total amount of deposits and withdrawals that a customer can make. However, it does charge a certain percentage after a point;
Facilities Provided by a Savings Account
The different types of facilities offered by a Savings Account can be summarised as:
- Customers can easily make bill payments, phone recharges, DTH top-ups;
- Allows fund transfers by way of the NEFT, RTGS, and IMPS facilities;
- Facilitate withdrawals from ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) across the country;
- Permits ATM deposits and deposits at any branch of the bank holding your account;
- Customers are allowed to purchase goods online by way of the internet banking facility;
- Provides reward points for each transaction. The same can be redeemed in any form, ranging from vouchers, movie tickets to travel tickets, etc.;
- One can pay his/ her electricity bills by using the e-banking facility;
- By way ofa savings account, one can pay off his/ her EMIs andCredit Dues;
- One can avail of attractive loan schemes at a low interest rate, only through his/ her savings account;
Allows the holder to check the cash flow of his/ her account through detailed or mini statement;
Required Documents for Opening a Savings Account
The documents required by an individual to get his/ her savings account opened are as follows:
- Identity Proof of the Holder, in the form of Aadhar Card, Voter Id, etc.;
- Address Proof of the Holder, in the form of Sale Deed, Rent Agreement, or Utility Bills;
- A copy of the holder’s PAN;
- 2 passport-sized photographs;
Different Types of Savings Account
The different kinds of Savings Accounts are as follows:
- Regular Savings Account;
- Salary Savings Account;
- Senior Citizen Savings Account;
- Minor Savings Account;
- Women’s Savings Account;
- Zero Balance Savings Account;
- Family Savings Account
Regular Savings Account
A regular Savings Account is a basic sort of savings account, in which customers or holders can earn interest over their respective deposits. Further, this type of saving account normally comes with a minimum balance requirement.
Also, it shall be noted that customers are allowed to deposits and withdrawals, but within a prescribed daily limit.
Salary Savings Account
A salary savings account is primarily established by an individual who is receiving a salary for his/ her work. It shall be noted that this account does not requires any minimum balance requirement and is used for receiving the monthly earnings or income.
Further, it shall again be noted that a holder can avail the facility of internet banking with this account as well.
However, if in case, the salary of the holder is not credited within a period of 3 working days, then, in that case, the said account will directly turn into a regular saving account, that requires a minimum amount of balance.
Senior Citizen Savings Account
This type of Savings Account is particularly designed for senior citizens, and offers various benefits, privileges and higher interest rates.
Further, this account can be used by senior citizens to get their pension funds linked to it. The same is done for easy accessibility and management of funds.
Children and Minor Savings Account
In an aim to encourage children or minors to save their pocket money for the future or to allowthe parents or guardians save for the future of their child, banks operating across the country provides specialised children & minor savings accounts.
Further, this is one of the types of savings account that does not require a minimum amount balance in it.
Also, this account offers features and facilities similar to that of a regular savings account.
Women’s Savings Account
To specifically cater the needs of women, nowadays banks operating around the country have launched a number of women’s savings schemes and accounts that allows them to benefit from high value loans that, too, at attractive interest rates.
Further, this type of account is most prominentthe use of female entrepreneurs or the ones who wish to start a business of their own.
Apart from this, it shall be noted that again all the facilities and features of a women’s savings account are the same as that of a regular savings account.
Zero Balance Savings Account
This type of savings account is same to that of a regular Savings Account. However, it shall be noted that unlike that account, a holder is not required to maintain any sort of minimum account balance. Also, it comes with an ATM or Debit Card facility for the daily transactions.
Family Savings Account
A Family Savings Account is the last out of the types of savings account. It is another variant of a regular Savings Account. However, this account allows an entire family to avail of the benefits of savings that, too, from just one Savings Account.
Charges of a Savings Account
| Charges | Deducted amount |
| Non-maintenance of the account | Between Rs150 – Rs300 |
| Cash transactions and operations at own bank branch | Free for the first three transactions per month, however, the same increases to Rs150 per transactionafter the end of the first three free transactions. |
| ATM withdrawal from any other bank | Free for the first 3 to 4 transactions. However, after that Rs10 to Rs20 will be charged per bank transaction. |
Conclusion
In a nutshell, if we look around, we will find different types of Savings Accounts that, too, with different names &slightly different benefits, facilities, and features. However,it shall be noted that they are all pretty much same with just minor variations of the above-mentioned savings accounts. Also, banks can provide Savings Accounts under the ambit of a government scheme as well.
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