[Pancham]

Originally Posted by abhi.modi05

I'm surprised to see no one talking about Kotak Mahindra bank here. Good bank, on par with all the services major banks provide. I have a salary account and a credit card with them. Though I've not used any other bank to compare it with, but mostly I am satisfied with it.

Is it only me or am I missing something here?

Kotak Mahindra: 6 years, 1 Salary Account, 1 Credit card, Seamless experience and great customer service.

Btw Kotak Mahindra is the second largest private bank in India right now.

[digitalnirvana]

Originally Posted by abhi.modi05

I'm surprised to see no one talking about Kotak Mahindra bank here. Good bank, on par with all the services major banks provide. I have a salary account and a credit card with them. Though I've not used any other bank to compare it with, but mostly I am satisfied with it.
Is it only me or am I missing something here?

Same with me. Have a salary account for 14 years now and a Signature credit card. The app is useful and their customer service is good for Prima customers.

Though I have been mis-sold insurance policies by their relationship advisors and lost significant amounts of money but that is due to my own naivety.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Here are the details from Financial express
...
The government has tightened the provision under Section 194N in the Income Tax Act, 1961 by lowering the original threshold of cash withdrawal from Rs 1 crore to Rs 20 lakh to levy 2 per cent TDS, while withdrawal above Rs 1 crore will attract a TDS of 5 per cent for those who have not filed their ITRs for the past three years.[/b]

Thanks.
So if I understood correctly:
1. TDS deduction will kick in if one withdraws cash > 20L a year. For most salaried individuals this threshold will never be breached! The bank was asking for proof by way of uploading the IT return acknowledgements for last 3 years, failing which TDS will be deducted. But that's only needed if one exceeds the 20L threshold, right ?

2. The RBI committee has recommended transaction charges on withdrawals > 5k, but this is yet to be announced/implemented.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by abhi.modi05

I'm surprised to see no one talking about Kotak Mahindra bank here. Good bank, on par with all the services major banks provide. I have a salary account and a credit card with them. Though I've not used any other bank to compare it with, but mostly I am satisfied with it.
Is it only me or am I missing something here?

Among other banks I have an account with Kotak as well as their credit card. Their service is average but their IT sucks. It has been two years since they messed up my e-mail while entering it at the back end. I have gone to the branch at least 20 times, filled up a lot of change forms, but to no avail. The e-mail remains wrong and I cannot even change it online. Their major USP was 6% interest in savings account (beyond 1 lac), but it has now come down to the level of other banks. In this economic turmoil even their FD rates are lower than ICICI. Of course the FD rates of other major banks are even lower.

On the whole nothing to talk about. Of the various banks I have accounts in, ICICI is the best over all. HDFC is the worse and PSB are between.

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by vDragon3

Looking to open a savings account at Citi. As I see in their website there is only suvidha salary account. Do they have a normal savings account? And also what would be minimum balance requirement?

Citibank's normal banking account has 1L minimum balance limit. Really depends on what you are looking for as benefits to see if it's worth it or not, and what would be the primary purpose of this account.

As others said, their entry level Citi Priority banking requires NRV of 15L. However, good thing about it is that all of your NRV can be maintained by investing in mutual funds thorough Citibank, and you maintain just the bare minimum for monthly expenses etc. This way you take out the risk of the bank going under.

[vDragon3]

Originally Posted by SilentEngine

Really depends on what you are looking for as benefits to see if it's worth it or not, and what would be the primary purpose of this account.

The primary purpose is reliable online services. Currently hold icici salary account. Holding money in icici never felt safe, as I know people who lost money because of fraudulent transactions never got it back. Depositing cash is another pain with home and non home branches. Not sure of cash deposit in Citi. These two are my primary drivers for switching to a reliable bank account.

[Comrade]

Guys, I am looking for a bank which allows customers to do almost everything online or phone without having to visit the branch for every small request. Currently, I hold savings accounts in HDFC and Axis, and both have been underwhelming in this regard. They make you visit the branch for every small request, and we know nothing gets solved in a single visit.

Does any Indian bank offer either "chat" or "secure message" features on their internet banking. These had been convenient features I got used to in the US, but see missing in Indian banks.

Also, phone banking too has been very disappointing. Most of the times, IVR options are useless, and in those rare cases where I reach a human, they are mostly not able to help with taking down my requests or making any changes, and simply ask me to visit the branch.

One exception has been Amex for credit cards. They let me do everything through the chat option on their mobile app, or through a phone call. They also are willing to take requests through my personal email. Is any Indian bank upto this level.

[jkrishnakj]

Amex support is perhaps the best amidst the lot. Their chat support is terrific. Even when you need to speak to someone, they are the quickest in terms of getting a human on the other side. And in the rare event that it is not solved right then, I love the way they follow through and call you back for resolution. And to think that Amex does all this from a WFH environment, it is definitely good.

[kannan666]

Originally Posted by Comrade

Guys, I am looking for a bank which allows customers to do almost everything online or phone without having to visit the branch for every small request. Currently, I hold savings accounts in HDFC and Axis, and both have been underwhelming in this regard. They make you visit the branch for every small request, and we know nothing gets solved in a single visit.

You can try Digibank by DBS, everything is online and app based and very secure, I have been banking with them since January 2017 and completely hassle free so far. I also find RBL very good, almost on par with Digibank. YES Bank is another mention, and while the bank has faced torrid times, my experience with them over the years has been excellent, I have never ever had to visit the bank branch from 2012 till date.

[Jaguar]

I recently discovered that Standard Chartered has a limit of Rs.99999 for inter bank transfers. For other bank accounts, they follow the standard IMPS or NEFT limits but within Standard Chartered, the internal limit is in place and there is no way to increase the limit. I am not aware of other banks having this kind of policy and wondering what could be the reason.

[CliffHanger]

Been having an ICICI account(thought now my secondary account) for more than a decade; my experience with ICICI bank is pathetic, often times their service is slow and uninterested.

Their customer care executives on their official nationwide toll free number do not even meet the basic standards for communication with poor English and understanding ability, and to add to the miserable experience, they are trying to sell their products when I called them to make a complaint. You register for a card, you get calls from so many people, with each mentioning not to go with the other. I mean seriously, ICICI, are we in 2020? You go to their bank and wait for long to meet their executive only to interact with someone who is curt, disinterested and who thinks he is trying to do you a favor in his busy schedule.

A big NO to ICICI, Avoid! Feels sad to know this is one of the biggest bank in India with so many customers at the hands of such a moronic management incompetent to set things right.

[praveen789]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

A big NO to ICICI, Avoid! Feels sad to know this is one of the biggest bank in India with so many customers at the hands of such a moronic management incompetent to set things right.

My experience has been the exact opposite. Everything from service to the web portal interface has been great. Maybe having a good RM helps as I rarely need to call the general help line. One call/message to him and things get done. He came home to get all the paper work for my daughter's SSY account last year and is always a call away.

I had an account with HDFC Bank and their client portal is disgusting to use. Looks like it was designed in the 90s and not revised. Pathetic support from the so called RM so I ended up closing the account.

Bottom line, if your account value and net relationship value with them (across categories in terms of money) is high and you have a good RM, ICICI is still a good bet. I guess this logic applied to any bank.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by praveen789

My experience has been the exact opposite. Everything from service to the web portal interface has been great. Maybe having a good RM helps as I rarely need to call the general help line. One call/message to him and things get done. He came home to get all the paper work for my daughter's SSY account last year and is always a call away.

I had an account with HDFC Bank and their client portal is disgusting to use. Looks like it was designed in the 90s and not revised. Pathetic support from the so called RM so I ended up closing the account.

Bottom line, if your account value and net relationship value with them (across categories in terms of money) is high and you have a good RM, ICICI is still a good bet. I guess this logic applied to any bank.

I agree.

My experience with ICICI bank has been excellent. Their portal is one of the best I use. Regarding customer service in the branch, like all human interaction it depends on the individual concerned. I have had good experience mostly, but, yes, once in a while there is an employee with a chip on shoulder, but that is every where.

In contrast HDFC bank has one of the most irritating portals and design is pretty bad. The Kotak bank portal seems to be in competition with HDFC for irritating online customers.

On the whole as over the years I have accounts in at least four banks, I use ICICI as my primary account and others as a savings or Credit Card servicing accounts. Oh at least in my case, ICICI does not charge for IMPS, my other banks do. So I first deposit money in ICICI and then transfer ir where ever I need to.

[prateekm]

I can see ads across platforms for IDFC First Bank giving an interest rate of 7% on savings a/c with a balance above 1L+. Any advice on the bank's health?

[Vikalp]

Need to open a SSY account for my daughter, need suggestions in which bank should I open it?
Anyone with an account in IPPB (Indian Post Payment Bank) or SSY account in post office? Can the balance be viewed online and can the amount be transferred online to the SSY account opened with IPPB?

Thanks.