​If you’re an HDFC customer, this is going to hurt your pocket

Come June, HDFC Bank will increase service charges by as much as 43-50% on select products like debit cards, immediate payment service (IMPS) " a real-time money transfer mechanism " as India's second largest private sector lender aims to realign its fee structure on par with rivals.

As per a news report by The Economic Times, customers will now have to pay Rs 750 for an HDFC Bank platinum debit card against the current annual fee of Rs 500, while a gold debit card will offer the same revised fee structure, excluding applicable taxes.

However, high-networth individuals (HNIs) and corporate salary account customers holding savings accounts are exempted from the impact.

The ET news report elaborated, an HDFC Bank customer will have to pay Rs 5 for every fund transfer up to Rs 10,000 from May 15 for an IMPS. The current charge is Rs 3.5 for such a transaction. Charges remain unchanged between Rs 5 and Rs 10 for the higher quantum up to Rs 2 lakh.

ICICI Bank now charges Rs 5 only for an IMPS transaction up toRs 10,000.

"All these steps may help generate fee income for the bank, but wouldn't add significantly to profits," Dinesh Shukla, senior banking analyst at Sharekhan brokerage told the financial daily.

(Image: Reuters)