An important news has come for the account holders of Kotak Mahindra Bank. The bank has decided to introduce a new rule which will come into effect from December 2025. Now if you receive more than 30 transaction alert SMS in your account every month, then you will have to pay 15 paise for every additional message. That means it will be Rs 0.15 per SMS. But the first 30 messages every month will be absolutely free.
These alerts are messages that tell you whether money has been debited or credited to your account. Like sending money through UPI, doing NEFT, RTGS transfer, money coming from IMPS, withdrawal from ATM, depositing cheque, using debit card or credit card, cash transaction, SMS alerts are sent for all such tasks. According to the bank, with this you will get instant information about every action in your account. But now there will be a small charge for this if you take more messages.
Which accounts will be charged?
Now the best thing is that this charge will not be imposed on everyone. If you maintain a total balance of Rs 10,000 or more in your savings or salary account, which includes both monthly average balance and fixed deposits, then you will not have to pay this charge at all. And if your salary credit comes regularly then you will also get exemption. Whereas for those with 811 accounts, this limit is Rs 5 thousand. Meaning, if you maintain this much balance then no amount of SMS will be deducted, no matter how many messages are received.
Debit card fees reduced
The bank has also made some other changes. Fees on some debit cards have been reduced from November 1, 2025. For example, the annual fee of Privy League Black Metal Debit Card has been reduced from Rs 5000 to Rs 1500. The fee for Privy League LED card has also increased from Rs 2500 to Rs 1500. This is good news for those who use premium cards.
Average monthly balance will have to be maintained this much
Now talking about Kotak Everyday Savings Account, it is necessary to maintain an average monthly balance of Rs 10,000. If you are not able to maintain it, then 6% of the shortfall will be deducted every month, but the maximum will be Rs 500. Making DD is free up to Rs 1 lakh, after that it will cost up to Rs 4 per thousand. Rs 3 per thousand to senior citizens. 25 books free in a year in check book, then Rs 3 per book will be charged. 7 transactions are free in Kotak ATM, after that Rs 23 will be charged on financial and Rs 10 on non-financial. The same rule applies in ATMs of other banks also. In foreign ATM, Rs 150 will be charged on withdrawal and Rs 25 on non-financial withdrawal. Cardless cash withdrawal i.e. first transaction in IMT is free, then Rs 10. Replacing a lost debit card is free, but making an image debit card will cost Rs 199.
There are many types of accounts on which all these charges are not levied, like Private Banking, Solitaire, NRI Account, Government Business Account, Salary Account for Uniformed Services, Financial Inclusion, FCRA, Spendz etc. The bank says that all this is for operational costs, but customers will continue to receive alerts.
