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Electronic Clearing Services (ECS) is an electronic mode of fund transfer initiated by the RBI. It facilitates bulk funds transfer from one bank account to another. ECSs are repetitive and periodic transactions done by financial institutions for pension, interest, salary, and dividend payments.
It is usually used by lenders to debit EMIs from the borrower. ECS debit transactions are handled by NACH (National Automated Clearing House) under NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India).
Before diving into the ECS mandate charges, here is a quick overview of how this works. To start with, you will have to register and sign an ECS mandate. Once done, the mandate instructs your bank to undertake these tasks:
Credit or debit a certain amount of money as monthly EMI for your loan or any purchases and credit in your lender’s account periodically.
Every time the bank debits the amount, you will be notified about the completion of the transaction along with relevant details of your transaction.
Here are some important points you should know about ECS mandates:
It contains details of your bank account, branch, and other mandatory account information
While applying for this facility, you should specify the purpose of the debit, the maximum amount the bank should debit, and set a validity period
Your ECS charges depend on the NACH mandate. Transactions made by ECS mandate involve no charges as per the RBI. As per the directive, these charges cannot be levied on the customers by sponsor or beneficiary banks.
Key points to note regarding ECS mandate charges:
They may be levied on participating banks
The charges for banks making the transfer (originating banks) are 25 paise to the clearing house and 50 paise to the destination bank per transaction
Bank branches usually do not apply charges for debiting funds from the customer's accounts
Banks do not levy such charges while registering for it but can charge you for ECS sign verification
ECS sign verification charges are available on financial institution’s websites under service charges
Sponsor banks are required to disclose all the levied charges transparently for ECS mandate charges under ECS credit and debit.
ECS NACH mandate charges vary across different banks. Along with ECS sign verification charges, not having an adequate balance will be chargeable. Simply put, additional charges will be levied if your ECS transactions fail due to a low account balance.
ECS mandate charges of some banks are mentioned below.
Name of Bank |
ECS Outward |
ECS Inward |
|---|---|---|
State Bank of India |
|
|
Axis Bank |
|
Nil |
Standard Chartered Bank |
Nil |
Nil |
For more details on ECS mandate charges, contact your respective bank or visit the official website.
As per the RBI’s directive, there is no fee involved in transactions made through the ECS mandate. The only applicable charges are for participating banks.
If transactions made under ECS mandate charges bounce, it is treated the same way as a cheque bounce case. If the transaction bounces due to inadequate funds in the account, there is an ECS return charge, which varies from bank to bank. If the pending ECS is not deposited, the next ECS will not be deducted.
ECS mandate cancellation charges depend on the bank. So, you must contact your respective bank to know more. You can easily cancel the mandate by informing your bank and the beneficiary of the payment.
ECS transactions can be done without any restrictions. So, there is no value limit on the transactions in ECS Debit.
The ECS mandate is bank-specific. You need separate mandates for each bank you transact with.
The transactions initiated and charges levied as per the ECS mandate can be halted. Your instructions under ECS mandate charges will be treated as equivalent to ‘Stop payment’ similar to the cheque clearing system.
You can approach your bank or other institution with whom you have authorised the ECS mandate to withdraw the transaction process and ECS mandate fees. Here are some ways you can stop the ECS mandate and its charges:
Informing your bank and the beneficiary
Provide prior notice of the mandate
Withdraw the mandate directly with your bank without the involvement of the user institution
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