Bank accounts

robinwyatt

Hi,

Can anyone recommend a good bank? Preferably one that has low/no fees for a checking account and doesn't charge you for using other banks' ATMs (if that's possible), is found all over India, doesn't require a high permanent deposit and lets you do Internet and telephone banking. And oh yeah, doesn't make life difficult for you if you are a foreigner with a resident's permit!

Cheers,

Robin

sirensongs

My friends who have Res Perms like ICICI bank, which is certainly all over India and probably doesn't charge for cross-ATMing.

__________________
"Why do people go to India to find themselves? India is where you go to lose yourself."
Feringhee: The India Diaries

john.sw

Any private bank is better than a nationalised bank.

Some like ICICI (I do because of the TV adverts), but I prefer UTI because there is a branch in my local town. There is no ICICI or I probably would have gone there.

With my UTI account I have Internet Banking (iConnect), but I'm not sure about telephone banking.

I also have an international ATM card that does not seem to charge for withdrawals (although I have not tried withdrawing cash from SBI, for instance).

From my personal experience, steer clear of the SBT (State Bank of Travancore) and the SBI (State Bank of India). The staff are government employees and have attitude problems that private enterprise doesn't tolerate.

__________________
www.nilgiris.asia your guide to the Nilgiris, Ooty, Coonoor, Kotagiri and Gudalur

GoanCanuck

The best Indian banks terms of service are ICICI and HDFC. They are both private banks. If you are going to be living in one of the big cities then there are many foreign banks like Citibank, ScotiaBank, HSBC and others.

goangoangone

Corporation Bank has internet banking but other banks ATM machines charge.

__________________
GoanGoan......here

Nick-H

In browsing bank websites I've seen fees of around Rs30 for using another bank's ATM. If there is any good reason to prefer a bank that does not have a local branch/ATM then this is not much to be paying for that.

It is peanuts compared to the rip-off charges British banks charge for using their cards in ATMs here.

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

HowieUK

The UK Building society 'Nationwide' has a 'flexi' account that does not charge for ATM use abroad (including India!) Another IMer reported they had no problems withdrawing money using this card in India

I have an appointment with them on Tuesday to open an account!

Howie

Lukas_in_Mumbai

If you are travelling a lot it might make sense to select a bank that is part of the Global CashAlliance. In India currently the new arrival Deutsche Bank is to my knowledge the only bank that is part of the alliance and offers free usage of ATMs in India (e.g. ATMs of Citibank and some other banks can be used free of charge) and the free usage of ATMs in the US and Europe. Some 40 thousand ATMs can be used worldwide free of charge (in the US the ATMs of Bank of America, in the UK Barclays, in Spain, Italy, Germany the Deutsche Bank ATMs.

If you hold an account at one of the partner banks it seems to be a very easy way to access your money.

Cheers

Lukas

jivan

It would be interesting to know how much the initial deposit works out to.
Being a native SBI works the best for me. It has relatively lower costs than the private banks & has ATM all over. They've the largest bank & ATM channels. ICICI is a rip-off IMHO