@CC-Muncher
I currently have a salary account with Axis, but I'm considering closing or changing it to savings as I transition to freelancing.
However, my experience with Axis has not been positive. As an example, I've been eligible for a Burgundy account for years but I none of my RMs informed me about what burgundy is and what other options I can have. Interestingly when i confronted my current RM, he said, "it's not told to everyone", laughable i guess. Banking was not a focus of mine till now as well.
I noticed you've had a positive experience with Axis, especially if they offer rates comparable to IOB. I have a few questions:
Did you approach the Axis bank manager and negotiate an equivalent rate to IOB? How did you ensure they use that rate and didn't deviate?
Do you have a salary or savings Burgundy account with Axis? Did you open the Burgundy account after negotiations? I'm also considering HDFC Imperia, which offers better benefits than Burgundy, but unsure if they can match IOB rates.
Is obtaining FIRC easy with Axis? Do they provide FIRC for every transaction?
Could you provide details on the service charges for a single transaction? I'm not familiar with the charges, and for Wise (business), it's around ~2.5% of transaction amount, which seems high to me.
I was initially considering SBI, BOB or IOB for better rates and ease of use but had to reconsider as SBI doesn't provide FIRC for each transaction or so I am told. I'm yet to confirm with IOB (though their site mentioned FIRC for 250 INR) and BOB.
Any insights would be appreciated.
I am trying to gather as much details as possible before going with a bank. Seems like every bank/financial institutes nowadays are giving very sad experience in one way or the other.
Private banks seems to want better negotiation skills and public ones are being less "friendly".
I am not aware about total charges in a transaction involving any bank (especially IOB/SBI/BOB) either to compare with Wise's 2.5% , and no idea about how stripe can be helpful at this point.