Savings Accounts Without Minimum Balance: Anyone who keeps money in a bank savings account knows about this thing called minimum balance. This is the least amount of money you need to keep in your account so it stays active. If your money goes below that limit, the bank can take a fine from you.
This fine is not random, they take it to cover the cost of looking after your account, keeping things running like ATMs, mobile banking, and customer help services. Banks have to pay for their offices, their workers, and all the systems that make sure you can use your account anytime.
Buybacks to Attract Higher Taxes Post-Oct 1: How Investors Can Minimize Impact
Savings Accounts Without Minimum Balance Rule: Check the Banks Offering ItTo make all this possible, they set a rule for customers to keep a certain amount in the account. How much exactly you have to keep depends on the bank and the type of account you haveso it’s different for everyone.
RBI Says Banks Can Decide the Amount
The Reserve Bank of India has made it clear that it will not fix the minimum balance rule for savings accounts. They said every bank can decide for itself.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra explained, “The RBI has left it to individual banks to decide on what minimum balance they want to set. Some banks have kept it at Rs 10,000, some have kept Rs 2,000 and some have exempted (customers). It is not in the regulatory domain (of RBI).” This means RBI does not control this part, the banks do.
Some banks have removed the rule completely to make life easy for customers. For example, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, and Indian Bank do not ask for any minimum balance now. But other banks still keep the rule. For example, ICICI Bank recently made a big change.
Income Tax Refund Status 2025: Step-by-step guide to track your ITR refund online
From August 1, anyone opening a new savings account there has to keep Rs 50,000 as the minimum average monthly balance. Before this, it was only Rs 10,000. They increased it five times, and this change is already in effect as per their website.
