Zero-Balance Account
There are numerous benefits of having a bank account to save your money when it comes to banking services. From the ease of access to decent returns, there’s a lot you can get from banking and financial services. All you need to do is open a bank account registered under your name.
Now, say you got a bank account open for your salary debts every month. You get the money debited in your account at the beginning of the month, and almost towards the end of the month, your balance reaches zero. Sounds familiar? This happens with every other salaried personnel when they can’t hold the minimum money required to be saved in a bank account. As a result, banks can levy penalties on you against their minimum funds to be saved policy.
A zero balance account can come to the rescue. In this article, we’ll look closer to the basics of a zero balance account and everything you need to know about it.
What is a zero balance account?
A Zero Balance Account (ZBA) is a checking account in which a zero balance can be maintained. The RBI guidelines are known as a Basic savings bank deposit or (BSBD). In cases when a ZBA requires money, the same amount is transferred from a central or master account with no additional processing fees. This facility is mainly shared with people to promote more savings in bank accounts.
Corporate sectors are the most prominent users of zero balance accounts. This ensures that funds are readily available throughout the departments, the need to save the excess balance in separated accounts is eliminated, and companies have greater control over the disbursement of their funds. Common examples of accounts used here include payrolls and petty cash. These are more like a B2B product than a B2B one.
Talking about a savings bank account, it’s a deposit account with a bank that’s individually or jointly maintained and needs a minimum balance to be left in the account at all times by the account holder. On the other hand, in case of a zero balance account, the bank is still liable to pay all teh usual facilities that come with a regular bank account without levying any charges against the account holder.
Zero balance accounts allow a limited number of transactions per month, exceeding which a bank will usually convert your account to a regular savings account.
How do Zero Balance Accounts work?
It’s an automated money transfer process. The master account deals with a centralised place to manage an organisation’s funds. In cases when a money request is generated, the amount is automatically transferred from the master account to the individual’s bank account.
This feature comes with many additional benefits. For example, a higher interest rate is offered on balances. Therefore a zero balance account helps maximise the funds available for investments and minimises the associated overdraft fee risks.
A Zero balance account helps reduce the risk of unapproved transactions by individual users. For example, making a transaction using a debit card provided by the ZBA means that the transaction amount is pre-approved because idle funds are absent in the case of a ZBA, and no transaction can take place until funds are supplied to the account.
Why Invest in a Zero-Balance Account?
Some of the significant benefits of a Zero balance account include:
- Account-holders are not charged for having a zero balance in the account.
- Free account benefits like passbooks, cash and cheque deposits, etc.
- Account-holders can access debit cards, ATMs, mobile or net banking services, safe deposit lockers, etc.
- Account-holders can make easy digital payments using electronic payment gateways like RuPay.
Conclusion
Zero balance accounts come with a lot of benefits for the users. First, the idea was to promote saving from individuals and improve currency circulation, especially in rural and semi-urban areas where cash hoarding is common. Today, many corporates benefit from how a zero balance account operates that reduces the risks of unapproved transactions, automated processes, and higher return rates to account holders.
