India’s second-largest private sector bank, ICICI Bank, has hiked its minimum balance requirement (MBR) to ₹50,000 per month for customers opening new savings bank accounts, effective from 1 August 2025.
As per the latest announcement from the private lender, the bank has increased its minimum account balance requirement to ₹50,000 per month in the metro and urban region branches. This marks an increase from its previous level of ₹10,000 per month as the minimum balance for a savings account in the urban branch.
ICICI Bank’s minimum balance requirement for the Semi-Urban segment branches has also been increased to ₹25,000, compared to its earlier ₹5,000 levels. The minimum balance for the bank’s Rural branches also jumped to ₹10,000, compared to its earlier ₹5,000 levels, according to the official website.
What does minimum balance requirement mean?
The minimum balance requirement, or minimum account balance (MAB), is the lowest amount of funds a customer can keep in their savings account to avoid a penalty. Every bank has its individual requirements for the minimum balance based on the type of savings account and the location of the branch.
The location of the bank branch plays an important role as the minimum balance requirements vary depending on whether it is a Metro or Urban branch, a Semi-Urban branch, or a Rural branch.
Minimum Balance for Top Indian Banks
Here are the minimum balance requirements for institutional lenders ranked based on the market capitalisation (M-Cap) of the banks in India —
1. HDFC Bank: India’s largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, mandates its customers maintain a minimum monthly balance of ₹10,000 or a fixed deposit sum of ₹1 lakh for a minimum of one year and one day for the urban branches.
In the Semi-Urban branches of the private bank, the average monthly balance is ₹5,000 per month or a fixed deposit of ₹50,000 for the same period of one year, one day. In rural branches, HDFC Bank mandates the customers maintain an average quarterly balance of ₹2,500 or a fixed deposit of ₹25,000 for the same period as other branches.
2. State Bank of India: India’s largest public sector bank, the State Bank of India (SBI), mandates that its customers do not require a minimum balance to be maintained monthly or quarterly. According to the official website, SBI’s Savings Bank account and the Savings Plus Bank account have zero minimum balance requirements every month.
3. Kotak Mahindra Bank: Kotak Mahindra Bank, the third largest private bank after ICICI Bank, mandates its customers to keep a minimum balance between ₹10,000 and ₹20,000, depending on the type of savings account.
The bank imposes 6% charge on the shortfall amount below the average monthly balance (AMB) per month, as per the data collected from the official website. The bank offers multiple savings account options like everyday savings account, classic savings account, Ace savings account, etc.
4. Axis Bank: Axis Bank mandates that its users have an average balance requirement of ₹10,000 per month for all locations, including the Semi-Urban or Rural branches or a fixed deposit of at least ₹50,000 for a tenure of 12 months or more.
The minimum balance requirement for a Priority Savings Account is ₹2,00,000 or ₹2 lakh per month for all three segment branches: Metro, urban, semi-urban, and Rural accounts. If the minimum balance requirement is not met, the bank will charge a 6% rate on the shortfall of the average balance requirement, which can go up to a maximum of ₹600.
5. Bank of Baroda: According to the official data, customers of Bank of Baroda have to keep a minimum Quarterly Average Balance (QAB) balance requirement of ₹2,000 for its metro branches, ₹1,000 for its Semi-Urban branches, and ₹500 for its rural branches.
6. Punjab National Bank: Punjab National Bank (PNB) data shows that the State-run bank has mandated its customers to keep a minimum account balance of ₹10,000 per month for the metro locations, while ₹5,000 is mandated for Urban branch locations.
PNB also mandates its customers using a Semi-Urban branch to keep at least ₹2,000 per month as minimum balance, while the requirement for the minimum balance in Rural branches is ₹1,000 per month, according to the official website.
7. Union Bank of India: The Union Bank of India asks its customers to maintain an average quarterly balance of ₹1,000 for the metro and urban branches of the institutional lender, while the requirement for the semi-urban branches are at ₹500.
According to the official website, a savings bank account in a rural branch of the Union Bank of India requires a minimum balance of ₹250 (the average quarterly balance).
8. Canara Bank: Mint reported earlier that Canara Bank, on Sunday, 1 June 2025, the State-owned institutional lender waived the average monthly balance (AMB) requirement for all the types of savings bank accounts available.
In this case, the customers will now not be charged any amount in case they miss to maintain a minimum monthly balance in their savings account.
“With this new policy, all Canara Bank SB account holders will now enjoy true ‘no penalty on minimum balance’ for all SB accounts, free from any AMB-related penalties or fees,” said Canara Bank in a statement.
9. IDBI Bank: According to the official website, IDBI Bank has mandated a minimum account balance of ₹10,000 in case of savings bank accounts in the Metro and Urban branches, while ₹5,000 minimum for the Semi Urban branches, and ₹2,500 for the customers who are accessing their bank accounts through a Rural branch of the bank.
IDBI Bank also has its Rural FI (Financial Inclusion) branches across the nation, which hold a minimum balance requirement of ₹1,000 per month, according to the official data.
10. Indian Bank: Indian Bank mandates its customers to maintain a minimum account balance of ₹2,500 for savings accounts with cheque facilities, and ₹1,000 per month for accounts without cheque facilities in the Metro and Urban branch locations, according to the bank’s website.
In case of the Semi-Urban and Rural branches, the bank mandates its customers to keep a minimum balance of ₹1,000 with cheque facilities and ₹500 without the facilities, as per the official data.
11. Yes Bank: As per the official website of Yes Bank, the institutional lender announced that its basic savings deposit account does not mandate the customers to keep a minimum account balance.
However, for the other premium savings bank accounts, the average minimum balance requirement is ₹10,000 per month for the Savings account PRO, and ₹25,000 per month for the Savings Account PRO Plus.
The bank also gives its customers the choice of maintaining a fixed deposit worth five times the amount of the average minimum balance requirement, according to Yes Bank’s website.
Disclaimer: This article only intends to educate and spread awareness about bank accounts and the minimum balance requirements. Mint does not promote or encourage making investments without seeking professional advice from certified experts.
