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August 9, 2025

Opening an ICICI Account? Be Ready to Maintain Rs 50,000 Monthly

The CSR Journal Magazine

From August 1, ICICI Bank has dramatically raised the monthly average balance (MAB) obligations for new savings account holders, marking its most substantial policy revision since 2015. This shift targets account types beyond salary and pension accounts, which remain exempt.

Who it impacts:

  • Metro & Urban: New account holders must now keep a Rs 50,000 monthly average balance, up from Rs 10,000.

  • Semi‑urban: The requirement increases to Rs 25,000, replacing the previous Rs 5,000.

  • Rural: Now at Rs 10,000, compared to the earlier Rs 2,500.

Existing clients retain the old structure—Rs 10,000 for urban/metro and Rs 5,000 for semi‑urban/rural—only applying to accounts opened before August 1, 2025.

Penalty structure:

A fee applies if the MAB isn’t met: 6% of the shortfall or Rs 500, whichever is lower, “These charges will be waived if the customer qualifies under the bank’s enrolled program criteria.”

Cash transaction changes:

Customers now get three free cash deposits or withdrawals per month (across branches and cash recycler machines). Beyond that, each transaction costs Rs 150, and a Rs 1 lakh monthly cap applies. If both number and value limits are exceeded in the same month, ICICI levies the higher charge.

Third-party deposit limit:
Elective deposits from others are capped at Rs 25,000 per transaction across all savings accounts.

Additional service-related charges introduced:

  • ECS/NACH debit returns: Rs 500 per case, capped at three incidents per mandate per month.

  • Outward cheque returns: Rs 200 each (financial reasons).

  • Inward cheque returns: Rs 500 for financial issues; Rs 50 for non-financial (excluding signature mismatch).

  • Declined ATM or POS transactions for insufficient funds: Rs 25 each.

Rate update:

This move follows April’s decision to cut the savings account interest rate by 0.25%, now offering 2.75% for balances up to ₹50 lakh.

Context within the banking industry:

ICICI’s stricter norms are among the most stringent in India. By contrast, SBI eliminated its minimum balance rule in 2020. Others, such as HDFC and Axis, maintain far lower limits—ranging between Rs 2,000 and Rs 12,000, depending on location.

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