Opening Savings Bank accounts (SB)

Different banks requirements are different for opening a SB account. But broadly we can state the requirements as below; 1) Duly filled account opening form. 2) Passport size photograph of person opening account. 3) Identity Proof ( Election Card, PAN Card, Passport or any card bearing Photograph of the person) 4) Address Proof ( Election Card, Passport, Electricity Bill, Telephone Bill or any bill containing address of the person) 5) Introduction by an existing account holder. 6) Initial Deposit. • What does account opening form contains ? It usually contains Name of person, Name of father/husband, Address, Date of Birth, PAN number details/F60 details, Education, Profession, Income, Movable and Immovable assets, Family details, Nomination details and many more. • Photo, Identity Proof, Address Proof are required to confirm the identity/ residence of the person. • Proper Introduction is obligation on the part of bank. • Initial deposit varies from bank to bank. Some banks open Zero balance accounts. Public sector banks require less initial deposits compared to their Private sector counterparts. • Many banks offer add on facilities with your SB account like ATM Card, Internet Banking, Tele Banking, Personalised cheque book, Multicity cheque book, Insurance at nominal rates/free insurance etc. Why does Banks are keen to garner more Savings Bank accounts? The banks are keen to have more and more SB accounts because: 1. Their customer base expands, which in turn provides them opportunity to cross sell their products. 2. These are low cost deposits. So the cost of deposits of the bank comes down with aggressive addition of SB accounts. 3. These are stable deposits unlike the bulk deposits where there is always threat that the depositor can close or transfer deposits.