Term & Conditions – Deposit Accounts
 

The terms and conditions stated hereunder form the contract between the Customer and the Bank (as defined hereunder). By entering into a relation with the Bank, the customer acknowledges that he / she / it has / have read, understood and accepted the Terms & Conditions. The Bank reserves the right to change/ modify / amend these periodically or from time to time and the Customer shall be responsible for regularly reviewing such changes, modifications or amendments as may be published on the Website or at branches of the Bank.

 

While adopting these terms & conditions, The Bank reiterates its commitment to individual customers outlined in the Code of Banks Commitment to Customers adopted by the Bank. This document is a broad framework under which the rights of common depositors are recognized. Detailed operational instructions on various deposit schemes and related services will be issued from time to time.

 

Further, any direction from statutory/ regulatory bodies under the jurisdiction of Republic of India applicable to Scheduled Commercial Banks supersede these terms. No act of delay or omission by the Bank shall affect its rights, powers and remedies under these Terms and Conditions.

 

1.      Definitions & Applicability of terms

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions used herein shall have the respective meanings:

·         Customer – Any person/ entity holding account / on whose behalf account is maintained with The South Indian Bank Ltd., hereafter referred to as Bank. Beneficiaries of transactions by professional intermediaries as well as any person involved in a high value transaction which involves sufficient reputation / other risk to bank.

·         Account - An arrangement with the bank whereby one may deposit and withdraw money and in some cases be paid interest.

·         Account opening form (AOF) - refers to the relationship opening form for Account in the Bank.

·         Applicant - Customer who has applied for opening an account with the Bank whether pursuant to filing an electronic application form or application form in physical form.

·         Authority (ies) - Any competent regulatory, prosecuting, tax or governmental authority, court or tribunal, in any jurisdiction, domestic or foreign.

·         Guardian/Parent - The natural/court appointed guardian appointed under the applicable laws for a Customer who is a minor / challenged.

·         Confidential Information - Information relating to the customer including but not limited to personal data, bank account details, transactional information, and any other information that a reasonable person would consider to be of a confidential or proprietary in nature.

·         Quarter – refers to the financial quarter i.e. months from April - June; July - Sep; Oct - Dec; Jan -Mar

·         Half Year – refers to financial half year and includes the months of Apr-Sep (first half) and Oct-Mar (second half)

·         Other Services - It shall mean and include such additional offers/benefits/facilities offered by the Bank.

·         Promotional Offer/s - Additional benefits provided to customers from time to time based on terms and conditions communicated and at the sole discretion of the Bank. subject to withdrawal without prior notice.

·         Website – refers to The South Indian Bank’s official website hosted in the internet – www.south indianbank.com

·         CEG – Customer Experience Group – Bank’s Customer Care Centre – Toll free number 18004251809 / 18001029408 / as updated in Bank’s Website www.southindianbank.com from time to time.

 
 

2.      Deposit Accounts

The Bank shall offer deposit products under different names, which may be broadly categorized into the following types.

 
 

A.    Demand Deposits are those deposits received by the Bank which are withdrawable on demand.

Savings Account is a form of demand deposit which is subject to restrictions as to the number of withdrawals as also the amounts of withdrawals permitted by the Bank during any specified period.

 

Current Account is a form of non-interest bearing demand deposit where from withdrawals are allowed any number of times depending upon the balance in the account and the purpose for which the same is opened. It shall also be deemed to include other deposit accounts which are neither savings deposit nor term deposit.

 
 

B.     Time / Term Deposits are those deposits received by the Bank for a fixed period withdrawable only after the expiry of the fixed period.

 

Recurring deposits are those where a fixed amount is remitted monthly for a prefixed time interval varying from a minimum period as decided by the bank from time to time to a maximum of 10 years.

 

Fixed Deposits are term deposits [short term / long term] with monthly / quarterly interest pay out / Cumulative interest deposits. These deposits are accepted under Domestic / NRE / NRO / FCNR (B) / RFC categories.

 

Bulk Deposits i.e. Single Rupee term deposits of Rupees two crore and above for Scheduled Commercial Banks (excluding Regional Rural banks) and Small Finance Banks also fall under the category. These may be callable or non-callable in nature.

 
 

3.      Account Opening and Operation

Customer agrees that before on boarding for opening any deposit account, Bank shall carry out due diligence as required under KYC guidelines issued by RBI, AML rules and regulations and such other norms or procedures as per the Customer Acceptance Policy adopted by the Bank. If the decision to on board a prospective depositor requires clearance at a higher level, reasons for any delay in opening of the account shall be informed to him/her and the final decision of the Bank will be conveyed at the earliest to him/her.

 

The Bank will meet its commitment of providing basic Banking services to disadvantaged sections of the society. Banking services will be offered to them through BSBDA and such accounts will be opened with relaxed customer acceptance norms, if any applicable, as per regulatory guidelines. Bank shall engage Business Correspondents both individuals and Corporate to extend basic Banking services. Customer agrees that in the event of non-satisfaction of transactional limits stipulated, bank reserves the right to upgrade the account from BSBDA with / without intimation to customer.

 

The AOF and other material would be provided to applicant by the Bank. The same will contain details of information to be furnished and documents to be produced for verification and / or for record. The Bank official opening the account, shall explain the procedural formalities and provide necessary clarifications sought by the prospective depositor. The same shall also be made available on bank’s website as well as through Customer service executives at CEG.

 

Various forms of Online / Digital Account Opening facility will be provided to Residents as well as Non-Residents individuals subject to compliance of conditions as stipulated by the Bank / regulator from time to time.

 
 

Aadhaar – OTP based Account Opening

A resident individual of Indian nationality, who is an adult, not reportable under FATCA or CRS, who is neither a PEP nor related to one may opt for the facility subject to agreeing to authorize the Bank to fetch personal details from UIDAI.

 

Privileges / operational facilities offered are subject completion of personal/biometric verification and KYC within period as stipulated by the Bank. Failing to complete required formalities within a year, bank reserves the right to freeze / close / block account operation. Other details will be dealt as specified in Bank’s KYC, AML and CFT Policy.

 
 

Video based Customer Identification Process / V-CIP

A resident individual, born in the country, not reportable under FATCA or CRS may opt for the facility subject to production of valid Aadhaar & PAN. Failing to complete required formalities/ meet balance / technical requirements as stipulated, bank reserves the right to deny privilege to the facility. Other details will be dealt as specified in Bank’s KYC, AML and CFT Policy.

 
 

Website based Account Opening

The facility may be opted by a non-resident individual. Account opening is subject to completion of formalities as stipulated by the Bank and submission of photocopies of ID attested by Indian Embassy /Notary /Banker Overseas/Exchange Houses or by any South Indian Bank Officers.

 
 

4.      Customer Identification Procedure (CIP) & Due Diligence

Customer agrees that acceptance of his / her / their / its application for on boarding is subject to satisfaction of due diligence process. This will involve satisfying about the identity of the Person by Verifying Identity Proofs / Documents mandated by Regulator / statutes applicable from time to time, verification of address, satisfying about his / her occupation and source of income and obtaining recent photograph of the person/s opening/operating the account. The Bank shall categorize customers based on risk perception and prepare profiles of customers for the purpose of transaction monitoring. Customer agrees that inability / unwillingness of a prospective customer to provide necessary information /details could result in the Bank not opening an account/ ending the business relationship.

 

In addition to the due diligence requirements, customer agrees to submit any document required as per KYC norms / IT / other rules of the land and risk categorisation of the account. In the event of inability of an existing customer to furnish details required to fulfil statutory obligations the Bank reserves right for closure / partial freeze of the account after due notice(s) is provided to the customer.

 
 

5.      Grouping of accounts

The Bank will make best effort to identify an individual / entity through a single identification number, namely CIF ID. Customer agrees to ensure that all of his / her / its accounts within the bank are grouped under the single ID. All limits and freebies offered will be pertaining to a group wherever applicable.

 
 

6.      Charges & Facilities

The Bank at its discretion shall set minimum balance stipulations/ eligibility conditions for various account products. By agreeing to these terms, the customer agrees that for each account variant and product feature offered, AMB requirements might vary and that he / she / they have read and understood the respective AMB requirements to be maintained and the default charges in respect of non-maintenance of the AMB in the respective product variant.

 

The customer agrees that facilities / privileges offered will be subject to maintenance of stipulated minimum average balance in an account or all accounts under a given CIF / group as the case may be. These may be charged / withdrawn without prior notice owing to non-maintenance of AMB or as deemed fit by the Bank. The bank, however will not upgrade / downgrade any account without prior consent of customer unless a BSBDA which exceeds stipulated transaction limits.

 

The Customer confirms to have received, read and understood a copy of the Schedule of charges published in Bank’s website www.southindianbank.com with charges applicable for the services and that the Bank may, at its sole discretion, amend any of these from time to time, completely or partially, with / without notice.

 

The Customer agrees to the above and that failure to comply shall attract charges which may be deducted by the Bank from the Customer’s account with / without prior notice. In the event of non-availability of required amount, bank reserves the right to mark lien on the account and recover these on a later date with / without prior notice. Further, in case of recovery/ charges to loan accounts, if the primary account does not have sufficient balance, Bank reserves the right to recover the same from the other linked accounts of the borrower / co-borrower. Bank shall not be liable for any reputational /pecuniary loss so incurred to customer.

 
 

7.      Right to Lien / Set off

The Bank shall have the right of set-off and lien, irrespective of any other lien or charge, present / future on Fixed Deposits held in the Customer's Accounts whether in single/joint name(s), in any of the Accounts of the Customer maintained with the Bank, and over any and all securities of the Customer lying or that may come into the possession of the Bank from time to time, for safe keeping or otherwise, to the extent of all outstanding dues, whatsoever, and howsoever arising.

 

The Bank has the irrevocable right to reverse any entry (debit or credit) made in the Account with reference to any transaction carried out over the Electronic Media or otherwise, where in the course of any scrutiny, verification, checking, investigation, audit or otherwise it is found or determined that the entry was incorrect/not accompanied by proper supporting documents or authorizations/did not meet any rules or regulations or specifications including but not limited to those of the Bank.

 

The Bank shall have a lien on the Account of the Customer to recover such costs/damages/liability that the Bank may incur and shall have the right to claim and recover any shortfall from the Customer. Once lien is marked on an account, the future credits in the account will be first utilized for setting off the Bank’s charges and the free balance after setting off bank’s charges will be available for the customer.  

 
 

8.      Attorney / Mandate Holder:

If the Customer wishes to appoint an attorney to operate the Account or avail the Services on his / her / their / its behalf, he / she / they shall forward the certified true copy of the duly notarized Power of Attorney to the Bank (in the format approved by the Bank) along with the original for the purposes of verification. The Bank may at its absolute discretion accept such Power of Attorney and allow such Power of Attorney holder to operate the Account or avail of the Services on behalf of the Customer in the manner acceptable to the Bank. In the event of revocation of the Power of Attorney the Customer agrees to immediately inform the Bank in writing of such revocation and submit the documents in support of revocation. The Bank shall not be liable for any loss owing to omission / delay in intimation on part of the customer.

 
 

9.      Address:

The Customer agrees to promptly notify the Bank of any change in permanent / communication address grouped under his / her / their /its CIF ID with supporting documents as mandated by the rules of the Bank.

 

The Bank shall not be held liable for non-receipt of any mail delivered at such address due to any reason including (but not limited to) fault of the postal / courier agency, mail being delivered at the given address but being not received by the customer and/or mail not being delivered at the given address due to the customer not being available thereat etc.

 
 
10. Communication by Customer:

Customer agrees that the Bank is not bound by any communication received on behalf of his / her / their / its account from any means other than those specified/ accepted and no other. Transaction requests via phone/ email shall not be entertained. Requests, if any forwarded shall be valid only if the same is sent in the format (if any) prescribed by the Bank. Bank shall not be liable for any loss / liability due to non-processing of requests forwarded in formats / means not acceptable to the bank / delay / omission on part of the customer. The transactions effected by the customer through Net Banking / Mobile banking portals of the bank / third party payment apps cannot be reversed and liability in case of unauthorized transactions shall be governed in accordance with Bank’s Policy on Customer Protection – Limiting Liability.

 
 
11. Passbook:

The Bank shall provide pass book to all operative account holders on demand. Customer agrees to carefully examine the entries made in their passbooks immediately upon such entries being made and draw Bank's attention to any errors / omissions/discrepancies that may be discovered on the same day or on the next bank working day. Bank shall not be liable for any claim/loss arising out of Customer's failure to carry out examination of entries and promptly bringing them to the bank's notice.

 

The Customer agrees to present the passbook at regular intervals for updating and to maintain the same at a place of safety. The Bank shall not be liable for any loss / incorrect payment attributable to the neglect of this rule. The Bank shall have the discretion to charge for duplicate passbooks requested and revise the said charge with/ without any prior notice to the Customer. The Customer agrees to not create any security including but not limited to bailment or pledge on the passbook with Bank or any other person and not fill up / make entries.

 
 
12. Statement of Account:

Customer agrees that the statement of accounts shall be issued by Bank at a monthly frequency / as determined internally. In the event that the statements/ messages as sent to the Customer over any Electronic Media not tallying, for whatever reason, with the records available at the Bank, the latter shall prevail. The Customer agrees to pay any charges levied in accordance with its Schedule of Charges for issuing duplicate statements.

 
 
13. Value date

Value date is the date from which a deposit is effective. The customer agrees that the bank in general will give the day on which the deposit request is placed as the value date provided that it is a working day and is during normal working hours of the bank. In case of extended banking hours or on holiday, the value date shall be the next working day. In case of deposit by cheque, the bank will consider the actual date of cheque realization as the value date. The customer agrees to ensure that AOF/ other deposit form/ challan is complete and accurately filled and that bank shall not be held liable for any delay in deposit request due to error/ omission by the customer.

 

In case of auto-renewal of Term Deposits, the value date shall be same as the date of maturity of the last deposit. If the customer requests for a change in the term/ amount etc. of the renewed TD, which requires the existing renewed TD to be cancelled and fresh TD to be booked, and the request is made 14 days after the closure of the last TD; the fresh TD will be booked with a value date as the day the customer has placed the request or the actual realization date (if cheque deposit is made) whichever is later.

 
 
14. Extended banking hours

The Bank branches & offices will remain closed for customer walk-in transactions on the days specified in the holiday list, second & fourth Saturdays and Sundays in general. The branch opening timings during which customer can avail services will be specified at branches. The South Indian Bank reserves right to extend banking hours & add / modify / delete certain of these banking transactions during the extended banking hours. The bank also reserves the right to discontinue extended banking hours facility in certain branches without prior notice. Transactions performed during the extended banking hours (after the regular banking hours) will carry a value date of the next banking day in that location due to technical reasons. The bank will not be liable for any issues relating to loss of interest / liability suffered by customer including return of cheques.

 

Customer service requests will be accepted during the extended banking hours and will be processed during the regular banking hours of the branch during the same day or the next banking day as the case may be. Customers should note that only specified number of branch staff will be available during extended hours. In the event the branch is not available during the extended banking hours, a prior notice will be displayed at the branch premise. Customer agrees to contact the branch and confirm prior to reaching branch in-case of exigencies.

 
 

15. Period of deposit & Interest offered

The bank shall offer term deposits for tenure from 7 days to 120 months. Offering the facility for higher tenures and the interest rate then applicable shall be at the sole discretion of competent authority of the Bank. The customer agrees to indicate deposit tenor in AOF and that bank shall not be liable for any variation in the tenor / interest offered due to erroneous entry /omission.

 

By agreeing to the terms, customer agrees that the interest offered / maturity value of deposit is dependent on time period and in certain cases, the date & amount of deposit and the same may vary as per external regulations and also bank's internal policies. The Bank shall make available details of interest to be paid on deposit account across all major sources of information - bank's website, branches, etc. for the benefit of its customers.

 

The bank may at its discretion/ as per directions from regulators, offer preferential deposit rates for senior citizens, staff and any other exclusive associations. Customer should qualify as senior citizen or required employment status to avail the special rate as on the date of placing the deposit with the bank. If the requirement is not fulfilled throughout the period of deposit, customer will be only eligible for regular rates and not special rates. Customer agrees that Bank reserves the right to reverse excess interest paid, if any, in the event of misrepresentation / omission of facts by customer coming to light. Special rates shall not be applicable to non-resident customers.

 

Wherever applicable, deposit accounts will earn interest for every complete day of money placed with the bank. The interest amount is paid to customer as per the options provided by the bank and accepted by customer namely, monthly, quarterly, half yearly, annually or at maturity. The bank may consider a year with 365 days or 366 days for calculation of interest as the case may be.

 
 
16. Sweep In/Out

The bank provides sweep in/ out deposit facility to its account holders. As per this facility, balance over the specified amount maintained in the transaction account, will be automatically transferred to Term Deposit for a predetermined period, as per customer’s instruction. Customer agrees that in case of insufficient balance in the operative account at any point in time, required amount will be transferred out by breaking deposits for the benefit of the customer. The system will break the last amount that was swept in to the operative account i.e. follow the LIFO (last in first out) method while breaking the deposit.

 

The customer also agrees that only the principal amount in the deposit account will be available for breaking in case of insufficiency of funds in the operative account. The bank shall not be liable for any consequences arising out of any transaction on the savings/ current account which is failed/ dishonoured by due to insufficiency of funds in the account even after the entire principal amount in the deposit is swept into the account. The interest applicable on the sweep in amount will be the applicable rate for the period for which deposit remained with the Bank less the penal rate or the net of original contracted rate less the penal rate whichever is less.

 

The sweep-in and sweep-out of funds is performed by the bank on best effort basis and these services may get hampered / delayed during end of period system processing, system maintenance, etc. Issues, if any, should be informed by customer to the bank for rectification at the earliest.

 
 
17. Deposit Advice

In the event of opening Term Deposits through branches / online mode, customer agrees to accept Term Deposit advice generated in lieu of deposit receipt.

Bank agrees that in the event of customer opening deposits online, the system generated advice, even without signature is a non-negotiable instrument and valid proof of money deposited in the Bank. Wherever deposits are opened through branches, bank agrees to provide deposit advice bearing signature and employee code of the staff member who generated the same. Customer agrees to submit duly discharged Term Deposit receipt [in case of all deposits opened prior to 31.05.2019] to branches, in the event of requesting closure of deposits through them. In case of deposits opened subsequently, closure form will suffice. Bank agrees to not insist for discharged deposit advice.

 
 

18. Tax deduction at source & exemption

The customer agrees that his / her interest income beyond threshold as fixed by GOI shall be subject to TDS in the absence of submission of PAN and applicable form of exemption at the beginning of every financial year. The bank shall not entertain request for reversal of TDS deducted prior to the submission of the form. The bank shall not be liable for delay/ failure in applying the TDS exemption / omissions/ errors in the form submitted by the customer.

 
 

19. Maturity , withdrawal & Closure

The customer agrees to indicate maturity instruction as well as repayment details while booking deposits. The bank shall process deposit renewals as per the instruction provided by the customer at any point prior to / on date of maturity. In the absence of any instruction, it shall be presumed that the depositor intends to auto renew the deposit for the same period to which it was initially deposited and shall be renewed automatically for the same period to which it got matured. However, this shall not be applicable to Tax Gain Deposits, Recurring Deposits, FCNRB, SIB Galaxy Deposits etc. The Bank shall also provide option for online closure of deposits in select schemes as deemed fit by it. The onus of ensuring correctness of deposit account, interest credit account etc.in these cases shall lie with the customer.

 

Customer may request the bank for closure / premature closure / partial withdrawal of deposits wherever the facility is offered and deposits are not lien marked for any purpose. The same may also be opted through online mode . Customer agrees that request for premature closure of Term deposits or closure of operative accounts, shall be processed subject to consent of all account holders and clearing of dues / unrecovered charges, if any towards the Bank. Waiver of the above conditions shall be at the sole discretion of the Bank. Bank agrees to not levy premature closure charges/ penalty in deposit accounts owing to demise of account holder.

 

Under normal circumstances, the bank agrees to not close operative accounts without giving at least 30 days’ notice indicating the reasons for such closure. In such cases, the customer agrees to make alternate arrangements for cheques already issued and to desist from issuing any fresh cheques on such accounts. The payment of maturity / closure proceeds shall be made by credit to the account of the deposit holder with SIB / other Bank / Demand draft as opted by the account holder(s). Customer agrees that the proceeds will be paid in cash if the customer so desires only to the extent permissible by the extant of Income Tax provisions/ regulatory regulations.

 
 
20. Advance Against Deposit

The Bank may consider request of the depositor/s for Loan / Overdraft Facility against any Term Deposits including recurring deposits except against those opened under “Tax Gain Scheme” and “Security Deposit”. Bank shall not insist for the customer to submit the Deposit Advice for availing loan. Customer agrees to submit necessary loan documents/ declaration and marking of lien against the deposit in the system. The Bank may also consider loan against deposit standing in the name of minor subject to submission of, a suitable declaration stating that loan is for the benefit of the minor, by the depositor – applicant.

 

When an advance is granted against a term deposit and the deposit stands in the name of:

·         The borrower, either singly or jointly.

·         One of the partners of a partnership firm and the advance is made to the said firm.

·         The proprietor of a proprietary concern and the advance is made to such a concern.

·         A ward whose guardian is competent to borrow on behalf of the ward and where the advance is made to the guardian of the ward in such a capacity.

 

The bank shall be free to charge interest rate without reference to its Base Rate including advances granted against NRE term deposits and repaid in Foreign Currency or Rupees.

If the term deposit against which an advance was granted is withdrawn before completion of the prescribed minimum maturity period, such an advance shall not be treated as advance against the term deposit and interest shall be charged as prescribed in terms of the Reserve Bank of India’s directive on Interest Rates on Advances issued from time to time.

 

Customer agrees that the decision in regard to margin on advance against term deposit shall be at the discretion of the bank subject Board approved policies. The bank reserves the right to set off deposit at its discretion should the need arise.

 
 
21. A - Nomination

Nomination facility is available for all deposit accounts including Sole Proprietorship account. Nomination cannot be obtained for accounts held in representative capacity as the holder of any office. The bank shall advise customer to provide nomination details wherever applicable. In case of individual accounts where customer refuses to provide any nomination details, the same should be noted exclusively in the AOF and countersigned by the customer.

 

Customer agrees that nomination can be done in favour of only one individual and if the nominee is minor, a major individual should be appointed to receive the amount in case of claim during the minority of the nominee. In case of minor account, the person lawfully entitled to act on behalf of minor should make nomination and that the facility is not given to solely operated minor accounts. The bank shall allow inclusion / modification of existing nomination during lifetime of customer with the consent of all account holders. The customer agrees to ensure receive and safe keep the acknowledgement for all such transactions.

 

Customer agrees that nominee has the right to receive the applicable payment from the bank as trustee of legal heirs, only on the demise of the account holder after completion of all formalities as stipulated in Bank’s Manual on Death claims. Where nomination is not registered, the bank will process these payments to legal heir / court appointed person. Bank will take all necessary measure to ensure that the process for settlement is done at the earliest without compromising on the regulations.

 

21. B - Death of Joint Holder / Authorized Signatory

In case of Joint Accounts or in case of non-individual Account, the Customer agrees and undertakes to notify the Bank promptly if any Joint Account holder or Authorized Signatory/ of the Account, as the case may be, expires or is declared incompetent by a Court or any other competent authority. Bank may place a hold on the Account and stop all operations when any Account holder expires or is declared incompetent or it is revealed that he is of unsound mind or a restriction is placed on its operations, although the Bank can continue to levy Charges on such Accounts and claim such amounts as are due to it under any bankers lien or otherwise. Customer agrees that Bank shall not be liable for any loss due to delay / omission on their part.

 
 
22. Transfer of Deposit:

The customer can request for transfer of the deposit account from the branch of issuance to another within the bank. The request for transfer shall be signed by all the account holders and shall be considered subject to KYC compliance and applicable charges.

 
 
23. Non-transferability:

The account and the services provided by the bank to its customers are non-transferable under any circumstances and shall be used by the customer only. The bank though reserves the right to transfer, assign, or sale it rights; benefits or obligations to any other person and these Terms & Conditions will continue to hold for the benefit of the successors and assigns of the bank.

 
 
24. Notices:

Notices in respect of the Account /the services / facilities in connection with the Account may be given by the Bank either through email to customers’ registered e-mail addresses or letter to registered address or message / call to registered phone number. The Bank may also give any notice through its Website or by displaying at the branches and the same will be deemed to have been received by the Customer.

 
25. Waiver:

The South Indian Bank levies charges to the account only as per the schedule of charges communicated to customer well in advance through various channels – branch display, bank website, terms & conditions and physical mailers. These charges cannot be waived under any circumstances. Any waiver is an extreme right of the bank and can only be applied in case of any discrepancy / wrong debits to the account due to technical reasons.

 
 

26. Accounts of non-individuals/ legal entities

The customer agrees that in accordance with RBI guidelines, Savings deposit account may be opened only for individuals, karta of HUF, and organisations/ agencies as listed below:

1.      Primary Co-operative Credit Society which is being financed by the bank.

2.      Khadi and Village Industries Boards.

3.      Agriculture Produce Market Committees.

4.      Societies registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or any other corresponding law in force in a State or a Union Territory; except societies registered under the State Co-operative Societies Acts and specific state enactment creating Land Mortgage Banks.

5.      Companies licensed by the Central Government under Section 8 of Companies Act, 2013 or Section 25 of Companies Act, 1956 or under the corresponding provision in the Indian Companies Act, 1913 and permitted, not to add to their names the words ‘Limited’ or the words ‘Private Limited’.

6.      Institutions other than those mentioned in section 26(h) and whose entire income is exempt from payment of Income-tax under the Income-Tax Act, 1961; except

a.       Government departments/bodies depending upon budgetary allocations for performance of their functions,

b.      Municipal Corporations or Municipal Committees,

c.       Panchayat Samitis,
d.      State Housing Boards,

e.       Water and Sewerage/Drainage Boards,

f.        State Text Book Publishing Corporations/Societies,

g.      Metropolitan Development Authority,

h.      State/ District Level Housing Co-operative Societies, etc.,

i.        Political party,

j.        Trading/business or professional concern, whether such concern is a proprietary or a partnership firm or a company or an association.

7.      Government departments / bodies / agencies in respect of grants/ subsidies released for implementation of various programmes / Schemes sponsored by Central Government / State Governments subject to production of an authorization from the respective Central / State Government departments to open savings bank account.

8.      Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA).

9.      Self-help Groups (SHGs), registered or unregistered, which are engaged in promoting savings habits among their members.

10. Farmers’ Clubs – Vikas Volunteer Vahini – VVV.

The customer agrees that account opening / operation and privileges are subject to fulfilment of terms and conditions as stipulated in Bank’s KYC, AML and CFT Policy.

 
 
25. Non Resident Indians (NRI)

Non Resident Customer/ Applicant agrees to abide by the NRE/NRO or any other applicable scheme/directions laid by the RBI from time to time and to bring to notice of the bank change of status, immediately on return to the country for permanent residence. The Bank shall not be liable for any losses, claims, costs, charges and expenses arising from or suffered by the Bank by reason of non-compliance by him of the applicable laws.

 
26. Salary Account:

The Customer agrees that facilities / privileges entitled to the class of account hold only during the tenure of employment with the firm and may be withdrawn wholly / partially at the sole discretion of the Bank. Following three consecutive months of nil salary credit, the customer agrees that the account will be treated as an ordinary account. In the event of failure to maintain required AMB, charge as defined by the Bank will be recovered with/ without notice.

 
 
27. Accounts of minors:

The Bank will on satisfaction of norms set, allow operation of accounts by minors. The customer agrees to intimate the Bank as and when he / she attains majority and upgrade the account after satisfying procedures set as per KYC / regulatory norms.

 
 
28. Inoperative / Dormant accounts

An account shall be classified as inoperative / dormant if there is no operation (other than interest credits and service charge debits) in the account for more than 2 years from the date of last operation. By agreeing to these terms, the customer states to have understood the circumstances under which his / her / their / its account shall be classified as inoperative / dormant. Customer agrees to receive Bank’s SMS / e-mail advising operation in account. Bank agrees to not levy any charge merely because an account is inoperative / dormant. However, an account being inoperative/ dormant will not disentitle the Bank from levying the applicable charges, if any.

 
 
29. Direct debits & standing instructions:

The bank will offer direct debit and standing instruction facility on demand to customers subject to charges levied as per its Schedule of Charges. The Bank will act upon mandates given by customer for direct debits [Under National Electronic Clearing Service (NECS)] / National Automated Clearing house (NACH) and other standing instructions. In the event of mandate not being executed due to insufficient balance in account, charges will be levied and in cases of delay / failure in executing mandates resulting in financial loss / additional cost to customer, applicable compensation may be claimed.

 
 
30. Stop payment:

The Bank agrees to act immediately on stop payment instructions complete in all respects, received at its end through accepted channels provided these cheques have not already been cleared. Customer agrees to bear applicable charges as stated in Schedule of Charges for the instruction and cheque return charges applicable. 

 
 
31. Correspondent Bank Relationship:

Bank may use the service of Correspondent Banks to provide certain Services or facilities. Bank will take due care to protect the interest of the Customer, but the Bank will not be responsible if there are any losses/liabilities which arise as a result of any act or omission of the Correspondent Bank and/or any delay in realization of cheques deposited.

 
 
 
 
32. Forex & Rates:

All transactions conducted in the Account involving foreign exchange including the applicable exchange rate will be as per the regulatory guidelines issued by the RBI/GOI/FEDAI and the Bank's decision in this regard will be final and binding.

 

The Customer agrees that Bank may quote the exchange rate after due consideration of various factors including Bank's reference market rate, risk factors, costs, spread etc. and that there could be variations in customer's assessment on the rate with Bank's quote. The Customer agrees to independently assess whether the exchange rates quoted by the Bank are suitable prior to booking any FX deal and not dispute / raise any objection after booking a deal with the Bank. On any remittance made in any Account from outside India, the Customer agrees to state the reason/purpose for the same to the Bank, with such proof or evidence as may be required by the Bank.

 
 
33. Other Value Added / Channel / Third Party Services:

The Bank may at its sole discretion offer value added products / services which may be withdrawn / terms modified at the sole discretion of the Bank. The Bank may levy such charges as it may deem fit and the Customer agrees to enter into separate agreements wherever required. Services offered by bank include and are not limited to Locker, POS, PIS, Depository participant services, ASBA, Internet payment gateway, Collection management services, PAN /Tax related services, gold bonds etc.

Customer agrees that Online Banking facility and other channel services provided by the Bank shall not be deemed as basic banking services and that terms of service / charges may be modified at the sole discretion of the Bank. The safe-keeping and the confidentiality of debit card/credit card and their PINs, user id and passwords relating to internet banking and such other items relevant or pertaining to the Account is the sole responsibility of the customer. Losses arising out of unauthorized usage of these shall be dealt in accordance with Bank’s Policy on Customer Protection – Limiting Liability.

 

The Bank may enter into/ terminate tie up with third party service providers at its discretion with / without notice to customers as the case may be. It may offer new products or bundle existing products with third party products / services offered by alliance partners at its discretion. No third party product / service will be offered as quid pro quo. By entering into agreement, the customer authorizes The South Indian Bank / its representatives / alliance partners to contact him / her / it / them at all times not designated as DND for the purpose of marketing. The customer agrees to read & understand all terms & conditions stipulated and not hold the bank liable for any losses / liability owing to delay / omissions on their part / not adhering to the above rule.

 
 
34. Advertising, Marketing & Sales:

The Bank will ensure that all its advertising and promotional material are clear and not misleading. It will also ensure that its advertisements will include all relevant messages which require to be conveyed for enhancing awareness against unscrupulous / fictitious offers. In the event of availing services of a third party, the Bank will ensure that they handle customer’s personal information with the same degree of confidentiality and secure as we would.

 

The Bank will, from time to time, communicate various features of its products new/ existing by e-mail / SMS / over the telephone. Customer will be provided the option to unsubscribe from such communications. The Bank will ensure that any third party / agent acting on its behalf / selling its product complies with the Bank’s code of conduct. In the event of receipt of any complaint that Bank’s representative / agent has engaged in any improper conduct / acted in violation of this Code, it shall take appropriate steps to investigate and to handle the complaint and to make good the loss as per Policy on Customer Compensation.

 
 
35. Change of terms:

Terms & conditions are liable to change due to change in any rules/ regulations from RBI/ GOI/ any addition or deletion of facility/ product by the bank or any other reason which the bank may deem fit for amending the existing terms & conditions. The bank may change the terms & conditions from time to time at its own absolute discretion. Changes can be but may not be limited to addition of new terms & conditions, deletion of existing terms & conditions, modification to an existing terms & conditions. The bank may communicate the changes either by hosting on its website, or through any other available mode of communication. The customer shall be responsible to keep himself updated on the terms & conditions by checking the banks websites regularly.

 
 
36. Accuracy of Personal Information:

The Customer is responsible for the correctness of information supplied to the Bank from time to time. If the Customer has reason to believe that there is an error in the information furnished to the Bank he shall immediately advise the Bank in writing. Any change in personal information, signature etc. post account opening will be entertained only on production of signed affidavit and / or KYC requirements as specified in Bank’s Internal guidelines from time to time. The Bank shall not be liable for any consequences arising out of erroneous or misleading, incorrect, untimely or incomplete information furnished by the Customer.

 
 

37. Sharing of Information/Disclosure

The customer by opening & maintaining any account with the bank gives the bank the right to share/ disclose customer account/ personal information as available with the bank with any entity which has the right to access such information which may include but may not be limited to:

·         Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

·         Government of India through its authorized representative/ body

·         Courts/ Investigating agencies

·         Securities exchange board of India (SEBI)

·         Authorized representatives of the stock exchanges

·         Auditors, professional advisors

·         Any other legal entity/ authorized individual who has is entitled to such information

·         Credit Information Bureau’s including but not limited to CIBIL

·         Central KYC Registry (CKYCR – CERSAI)

 

Customer agrees to bank’s right to source for any other information about the customer or his accounts/ financial condition as may be deemed fit by the bank through whatever sources are available to the bank.

 

The Customer also agrees and consents that the Bank may share / distribute any information including the personal information provided by the customer to its affiliates and subsidiaries including third party vendors etc. with whom Bank has tie up for offering enhanced customer experience to customers or for other internal consumption requirement of the Bank.

38. Door Step Banking:

Customer agrees to not hand over cash to any bank official outside the bank premises. Bank shall not be liable or responsible for any loss / harm arising to the customer due to handing over the cash outside the bank premises/after working hours. It shall not be responsible for any negligent or fraudulent acts of such persons or any acts done outside the scope of their authority. However cash may be handed over to the authorised agent of the bank at the registered address of the customer as per terms specified in Bank’s Policy on Door Step Banking.

 
 
39. Preservation of Records:

The Bank at its sole discretion shall maintain / destroy such records of transaction in respect of the Accounts or Services, as it deems fit/ as mandated by law. The Customer shall not question the validity and correctness of the same. In case of conflict between the records kept by the Bank and those of the Customer, the records of the Bank shall be conclusive and binding.

 
 
40. Customer Care

SIB offers banking facility to its customers during the designated hours of the day as provided on the bank website and updated from time to time. Customers may also reach the bank’s Customer Experience Group for selected facilities as well as registering / addressing grievances through toll free numbers mentioned in the Bank’s official website. These services will be offered to customers on best effort basis and The Bank will constantly endeavour to upgrade the technical and human resources to serve customer’s needs.

 

At CEG, each customer will be identified and authenticated through a specific set of questions, contact details etc. Customers agrees that services offered via CEG are subject to positive identification. In addition to the existing customer authentication mechanisms, additional security measures may be included as required from time to time.

 

Customer agrees that calls may get recorded for record keeping / service enhancement purposes. These recorded calls may also be selectively used by the bank for any investigation purposes in case of any fraudulent issues pertaining to the accounts under scrutiny. Customer agrees to desist from using indelicate / abusive language / behave in such manner that affects the decorum of the institution.

 
 
41. Complaints & Feedbacks:

The Bank will ensure that all complaints addressed through channels specified are accepted, acknowledged and reference number provided. It shall endure to provide resolution / redressal within 30 days of receipt, to the extent possible [Conditions apply]. Information on modes of grievance redressal as well as officers at various levels will be disseminated through various channels of Information such as branches, notice boards, website etc. Customer may escalate unsatisfactorily redressed complaints to Banking Ombudsman. The Bank will make available the Banking Ombudsman Scheme on its website. In case the Banking Ombudsman passes an award and Bank has no ground to appeal against the award, we will comply with the Award within 30 days from the date of receipt of the acceptance in writing of the Award by the complainant

 
 
 
42. Governing law and Jurisdiction

This ‘Term and Conditions’ forms a contract between the customer and the Bank and as such will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India and the courts in Thrissur, Kerala shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of the same.

 
 
43. Force Majeure

The bank shall not be liable if any transaction fails, bank’s services are disrupted or the bank is not able to perform/ underperforms any of its obligations as outlined under the Terms & Conditions by an event of Force Majeure and in happening of such cases, the banks obligation will remain suspended till such Force Majeure condition remains.

 

Force Majeure event means events caused beyond the reasonable control of the bank which may include but may not be limited to fire, flood, pandemic, earthquake, other Acts of God, unauthorized access/ hacking of banks assets, communication failure, riot etc.

 

Any term / stipulation not covered herein will be dealt as per Board approved Policies of the Bank in the regard, Code of Commitment to Customers adopted and other instructions from regulators from time to time.