Minimum balance requirement for savings accounts

ICICI Bank has raised the minimum balance requirement for its new savings bank accounts opened on or after Aug. 1 by five times to ₹50,000.

The minimum monthly average balance (MAB) for savings bank accounts till July 31, 2025 for ICICI Bank customers was ₹10,000.

Similarly, MAB for semi-urban locations and rural locations has been increased five times to ₹25,000 and ₹10,000, respectively, according to information available on the ICICI Bank website.

In case account holders fail to meet the MAB, customers will be liable to pay penal charges of 6% of the shortfall in required MAB, or ₹500, whichever is lower.

The balance in the savings bank account of ICICI Bank earns interest of 2.5% per annum, it said.

The increased MAB will be applicable for new accounts opened on or after August 1, 2025. Customers who opened accounts before August 1 will continue to maintain the old level of MAB for now.

Salary account holders or PM Jandhan account holders and basic savings bank deposit account holders are exempt from this high MAB, as these are zero-balance accounts.

Account holders with a higher MAB will enjoy certain benefits, such as free NEFT fund transfers, complimentary three cash transactions per month, and thereafter, ₹150 per transaction. GST shall be applicable on all mentioned charges, it said.

The hike in MAB comes at a time when public sector banks have rationalized their penalties or completely waived them.

Led by the country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), other public sector lenders like Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, and Indian Bank, too, waived off penal charges for failing to maintain the MAB in all savings accounts.

MAB is the minimum balance that a customer is required to maintain in the bank account. If the balance in the bank account falls below the required amount, then banks levy a penalty.