Now, Your Bank Passbooks Will Have More Details: 10 Things To Know

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advised commercial banks to provide adequate transaction details in the passbooks of account holders. "In the interest of better customer service, it has been decided that banks shall at a minimum provide the relevant details in respect of entries in the accounts," the central bank said in a notification. The RBI said that many banks still do not provide adequate details of the transactions in the passbooks and/ or statements of account to enable account holders cross-check them.

Here are 10 things to know about the RBI's directive:

1. Banks have to give information about 'deposit insurance cover' along with the limit of coverage upfront in the passbooks. All commercial banks including branches of foreign banks functioning in India are insured by the deposit insurance and credit guarantee corporation (DICGC), according to RBI's website. In the event of a bank failure, DICGC protects bank deposits. Each depositor in a bank is insured up to a maximum of Rs. 1 lakh for both principal and interest amount held by him/her in the same capacity.
2. The RBI circular, dated June 22, gives the details of transactions which banks should include in passbooks. Here are some details. Payment to third parties: i) Name of the payee (ii) Mode - Transfer, clearing, inter-branch, RTGS/ NEFT, cash, cheque (number) (iii) Name of the transferee bank, if the payment is made through clearing/ inter-branch transaction/ RTGS/ NEFT.
3. Bank charges: i) Nature of the charges - fee/ commission/ fine/ penalty etc. (ii) Reasons for the charges, in brief - e.g. return of cheque (number), commission/ fee on draft issued/ remittance (draft number), cheque collection charge (number), issuance of cheque book, SMS alerts, ATM fees, additional cash withdrawals, etc.
4. Reversal of wrong credits: (i) Date of the original credit entry reversed (ii) Reasons for reversal, in brief.
5. Recovery of instalments of a loan/ interest on loan: (i) Loan account number (ii) Name of the Loan account holder.
6. Creation of fixed deposit/ recurring deposit: (i) Fixed Deposit/ Recurring Deposit Account/ Receipt number (ii) Name of the Fixed Deposit/ Recurring Deposit Account holder.
7. Transactions at POS (point of sale): (i) Transaction date, time and identification number (ii) Location of the POS
8. Cash deposit: (i) Indicate that it is a "cash deposit" (ii) Name of the depositor - self/ third party
9. Receipt from third parties: (i) Name of the remitter/ transferor (ii) Mode - Transfer, inter-branch, RTGS/ NEFT, cash, etc. (iii) Name of the transferor bank, if the payment is received through inter-branch transaction, RTGS/ NEFT
10. Interest on deposits: (i) Mention if it is interest paid on the Savings Account/ Fixed Deposit (ii) Mention the respective Fixed Deposit Account/ Receipt Number if it is interest paid on Fixed Deposit(s).