How the mega banks' merger will affect you

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced the mega merger of public sector banks.

Here’s how the move will affect the banks’ customers.

Deposit, lending rates: No change. However, if you have a marginal cost of funds-based lending rate or MCLR-linked rate, it will change after the reset period.

Also, if you book a new fixed deposit or take a fresh loan, the rate will be decided by the merged entity. Similarly, the savings account interest rate may change

Cheque book/debit card: You can continue using your cheque book and debit cards. The bank will issue new ones in a year

Home branch: There may now be a branch that’s closer/farther to you, depending the merged entity's decision

Account number: This will not change immediately. But if your bank has been merged with a bigger bank, there could be a change eventually and you could be allotted a new account number/customer id

Third-party details: If you have been allotted new accounts or IFSC codes, they have to be updated with various third-party entities: Tax department for refunds, insurers to get maturity proceeds, mutual funds to get the redemption amount and National Pension System, etc

EMIs/ECS mandate: You may have to submit new forms online or through branches