ICICI Bank Raises Minimum Balance For New Customers: What This Means

ICICI Bank has announced a significant increase in the minimum average monthly balance required for savings accounts opened from August 1, 2025. The change will affect customers across metro, urban, semi-urban and rural branches.

The move, according to a banker quoted by NDTV Profit, is part of a strategy to attract a more premium customer base.

New Minimum Balance Slabs

Under the revised rules, customers opening savings accounts in metro and urban branches must maintain a minimum average monthly balance of Rs 50,000, five times higher than the previous Rs 10,000 requirement.

For semi-urban areas, the threshold for new accounts has been raised to Rs 25,000, while rural branches will now require Rs 10,000. In contrast, existing customers will continue with the earlier limits, with many rural and semi-urban accounts retaining a Rs 5,000 minimum average monthly balance requirement.

Penalty for Falling Short

Customers who fail to meet the new minimum average monthly balance requirements will face a penalty of either 6% of the shortfall amount or Rs 500, whichever is lower.

The new rules apply only to accounts opened after August 1, 2025.

Minimum Balance Requirements Of Other Banks

The ICICI hike comes at a time when several banks are reducing or removing minimum balance penalties. State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, has scrapped such charges entirely, while HDFC Bank maintains a minimum average monthly balance requirement of Rs 10,000 in metro and urban branches, Rs 5,000 in semi-urban areas. For HDFC's DigiSave Youth Account, the average monthly balance requirement is Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,500, respectively. The Savings Max Account requires an average monthly balance requirement of Rs 25,000.

What This Means For Salary Account Holders

While the increase in minimum balance will not impact salary account holders directly, the figures highlight a growing gap between income levels and banking requirements. The average monthly income in India is around Rs 33,000. This means the new Rs 50,000 minimum average monthly balance requirement for metro and urban ICICI accounts exceeds the average person's entire monthly earnings.

For many, this level of balance maintenance may be impractical without significant disposable income. If more banks follow suit, we may see a shift where premium account products become the norm in urban centres, potentially leaving lower-income customers with fewer options in the private banking sector.