SBI Card to impose charge on payments made by cheque

Mumbai: Henceforth SBI Card — an arm of State Bank of India — will impose a charge on payments made by cheque, as per a news paper report.

The Times of India has reported that payments made below Rs 2,000 via cheque drop box will attract a fee of Rs 100.

"A large number of cheques were being dropped late into the boxes and subsequently disputes were raised on late payment charges. We have done a deep analysis. It is not possible that every month the bank is making a mistake in cheque collection," SBI Card MD and CEO Vijay Jasuja told the TOI.

The fees is however not applicable for SBI account holders, who make cheque payments across the counter.

“In such cases the cheques are not sent for clearing and the payment is made as an intrabank transfer. However, non-SBI cheques would incur fees even if deposited across the counter in branches,” the TOI report said.

SBI, the nation's largest lender, entered credit card business in 1998 by roping GE Capital India, the consumer finance arm of US-based GE Capital.

SBI Card, having 4.3 million users, is the only issuer in the country which is not a bank and is registered as a finance company.