Which bank to open an account in?
- Thread starter Nikhil
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just got an hdfc account. minimum balance required is 5k but that is for the saving accounts and i am not a salary guy yet. 
But if you ask me i would recommend Standard Chartered. My mother has been using it and its pretty good. But i guess you should go with the majority here since they make more use of banks then i do.
But someone told me that third party cannot deposit money into an hdfc account. (not talking about the online transfer, which is acceptable). But like i said i just opened an HDFC account so cannot testify.
But if you ask me i would recommend Standard Chartered. My mother has been using it and its pretty good. But i guess you should go with the majority here since they make more use of banks then i do.
But someone told me that third party cannot deposit money into an hdfc account. (not talking about the online transfer, which is acceptable). But like i said i just opened an HDFC account so cannot testify.
Since you are starting out, ICICI would be good as the no.of ATMs in the city is large. So, you can withdraw money easily from multiple locations when you want to. But ICICI is bad in many aspects. Few I can think of are 10K minimum balance(this might not be a problem if you take a salary account but you have to inform them of this), poorest fixed deposit rates offered, poor service at branches due to too many customers, cannot do instant cash deposit(they have some stupid procedure wherein they collect cash from everyone and deposit it at the end of the day if there are too many customers), ridiculous minimum draft charge.
HDFC is a serious bank for both transacting and saving. They offer good FD interest. Their staff is more knowledgeable than ICICI. Some bad points are that you have to keep visiting the branch for silly things like enabling third party transfer(transfer funds online from one bank to another) and getting some problems solved. But, problems are usually solved with one visit to the branch.
They recently screwed up with their online banking by offering 1 day delay for your online transfers(both ICICI and Citibank use a much better system of SMSing and authentication code to your mobile) but they might have changed this.
I would recommend a Savings Max account. You have to maintain 25K in that account but you can issue at par cheques(i.e. no charges for cheques cashed in another town/state.). Also drafts upto 2L per day are free. This is a boon especially if you have to deal in large amounts where these charges come to the tune of thousands. I think Kotak also offers this with lesser minimum balance (you might want to check this).
Also, inter bank transfer from ICICI to HDFC and vice versa is fast i.e it happens on the same day(I guess they have some understanding.) in my experience. I would suggest to get two accounts from both banks. Anyway, you will do this in due time
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HDFC is a serious bank for both transacting and saving. They offer good FD interest. Their staff is more knowledgeable than ICICI. Some bad points are that you have to keep visiting the branch for silly things like enabling third party transfer(transfer funds online from one bank to another) and getting some problems solved. But, problems are usually solved with one visit to the branch.
They recently screwed up with their online banking by offering 1 day delay for your online transfers(both ICICI and Citibank use a much better system of SMSing and authentication code to your mobile) but they might have changed this.
I would recommend a Savings Max account. You have to maintain 25K in that account but you can issue at par cheques(i.e. no charges for cheques cashed in another town/state.). Also drafts upto 2L per day are free. This is a boon especially if you have to deal in large amounts where these charges come to the tune of thousands. I think Kotak also offers this with lesser minimum balance (you might want to check this).
Also, inter bank transfer from ICICI to HDFC and vice versa is fast i.e it happens on the same day(I guess they have some understanding.) in my experience. I would suggest to get two accounts from both banks. Anyway, you will do this in due time
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Party Monger
Juggernaut
blr_p
Quasar
Your question is a timely one Nikhil, whatever choice you make it will be a temporary one.
Banking sector gets liberalised next yr, there will be some big cats moving in who can operate with razor thin margins compared to the locals. That means lots of sweet deals. Let's see how it goes.
persoanlly i've been quite happy with sbi & canara, i like a bank thats close by for any business, doing stuff over the phone does not work as well in this country yet.
Banking sector gets liberalised next yr, there will be some big cats moving in who can operate with razor thin margins compared to the locals. That means lots of sweet deals. Let's see how it goes.
persoanlly i've been quite happy with sbi & canara, i like a bank thats close by for any business, doing stuff over the phone does not work as well in this country yet.
I have accounts with Axis bank and HDFC. Most of my transactions are done with Axis bank.
Have been having some major problems with the internet banking last couple of months, so opened HDFC account just because of this. So far things have been good.
Minimum balance is usually 5k, but HDFC has some offer (thats what the guy said) with 2.5k minimum balance.
Best thing is to just wait till you join and open an account with the bank that your company regularly banks with.
Have been having some major problems with the internet banking last couple of months, so opened HDFC account just because of this. So far things have been good.
Minimum balance is usually 5k, but HDFC has some offer (thats what the guy said) with 2.5k minimum balance.
Best thing is to just wait till you join and open an account with the bank that your company regularly banks with.
techie_007
Galvanizer
I prefer HDFC. Only new hassle : takes 24 hr to add a new beneficiary for an online trasfer. Other than that, they are good.
And companies usually have a preferred bank. Check that out. Usually an account in the same bank means immediate salary credit at the end of the month. To a diff bank could take 1-2 days (cos its a bank transfer to another bank).
My 2 cents.
And companies usually have a preferred bank. Check that out. Usually an account in the same bank means immediate salary credit at the end of the month. To a diff bank could take 1-2 days (cos its a bank transfer to another bank).
My 2 cents.
blr_p
Quasar
Well companies do have one but why should you care about that. The company brings in business for the bank which gives them rewards.
I say choose a bank that works for you rather than your company.
After all it should not make too much of a diff, a cpl of days is trivial in exchange.
I say choose a bank that works for you rather than your company.
After all it should not make too much of a diff, a cpl of days is trivial in exchange.
starchazer said:just got an hdfc account. minimum balance required is 5k but that is for the saving accounts and i am not a salary guy yet.
But if you ask me i would recommend Standard Chartered. My mother has been using it and its pretty good. But i guess you should go with the majority here since they make more use of banks then i do.
But someone told me that third party cannot deposit money into an hdfc account. (not talking about the online transfer, which is acceptable). But like i said i just opened an HDFC account so cannot testify.
1: ya 5k limit but if u keep an fd of 50k or above than it becomes zero balance
2: std chartered havent seen much branches ...but earlier i heard alot of peeps saying deutche(whtever),std chartered and foreign banks in india are good but have exorbitant charges....is that true???
3 : Didnt get u....u mean no one can transfer fund to your account whether his bank support or not 3rd party???
I don't know how the banks compare in India, but here in the US I have had an account with Citibank for about 6 years. I have found them to be a good and reliable bank with easy accurate online access. The online banking updates very quickly with debit/atm purchases and they don't nickel and dime you to death with little charges for everything.
Channu
Forerunner
Well.... i use PNB :ashamed:
But the fact is that i can say it also does all the things pretty nicely.
1)U can add and do EFTs and they mostly get cleared also the same day for other branches too.
2)Railway tickets can be done at no extra charge.
3)I never found the service down
4)Have found a branch and ATM at all the places i've been to and mind u, i've travelled quite a bit
5) U get at par cheques which can be encashed at any branch being treated as local cheques
6)They dont keep on charging stupid 'misc' charges
7)I've got a zero balance maintainence Students A/C with all these facilities
But the fact is that i can say it also does all the things pretty nicely.
1)U can add and do EFTs and they mostly get cleared also the same day for other branches too.
2)Railway tickets can be done at no extra charge.
3)I never found the service down
4)Have found a branch and ATM at all the places i've been to and mind u, i've travelled quite a bit
5) U get at par cheques which can be encashed at any branch being treated as local cheques
6)They dont keep on charging stupid 'misc' charges
7)I've got a zero balance maintainence Students A/C with all these facilities
Nikhil said:
For e.g u can compare them for hdfc
Online Savings Account | HDFC Bank - Online Banking Accounts, Current Account India, Best Savings Bank Account
blr_p said:
+1. You need a bank branch that's within easy reach in case you have a problem. For eg: Citibank is a joke in B'lore with only 1 branch (MG Road) that I know of where you need to go to get problems resolved.
Things are better now these days where you can just drop letters in ATMs, but I remember I had to go to their main branch to submit an application for multi deposit(never take this option btw...it is not worth it and will muck up your account statement. It's called auto sweep in HDFC and their statements are the worst I've seen. You cannot even tell your balance from your online records.).
HDFC wont allow cash deposits to 3rd party accounts. As in I cant go to a branch and deposit cash in your account. I can of course transfer funds to your account.magnet said:
This limitation is there, as I understand it, to be able to track the source of funds. Which wont be possible if I deposit cash in someone else' account.
Other than that I find no issues with HDFC and have been using it for over 2 years now. Have 2 HDFC accounts and 1 ICICI account.
I would recommend HDFC over ICICI eyes closed if you cant afford a credit card or are afraid to use a credit card. HDFC gives you free facility to create virtual credit cards which expire in 24 hours if not used. These cards can be used only once. Also you select the maximum amount that can be charged on that card. So you can shop online without any worries. You may not need it now but am sure you will need it eventually.
EDIT - the only time I ever visit the branch is when I have to submit a form for activating any additional service. Have been using paperless banking since the start.
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