ICICI Bank minimum balance: Check penalty rates for non-compliance

ICICI Bank, India’s second-largest private bank, has sharply increased the minimum monthly average balance (MAB) requirement for savings accounts opened in metro and urban areas from ₹10,000 to ₹50,000, effective August 1 2025, according to news agency ANI report.

ICICI Bank has raised the minimum balance for savings accounts from August 2025. (REUTERS)

The increase is significant across all areas. For semi-urban branches, the new MAB has risen to ₹25,000 from ₹5,000. For rural branches, the requirement has gone up to ₹10,000 from ₹2,500.

Minimum balance rule and penalty charges at ICICI Bank

The minimum monthly average balance is the least amount a customer must keep in his/her account each month. If the balance falls below this, banks charge a penalty. ICICI Bank says it will charge a penalty of 6% of the shortfall or ₹500, whichever is lower.

ICICI Bank is the first to raise the MAB this steeply. However, these charges are waived if the customer meets the conditions of an enrolled programme.

For Family Banking, the family must together keep 1.5 times the programme’s eligibility amount. If not, members who don’t meet their own MAB will be charged individually. Pensioners do not have to pay these charges.

The bank will charge ₹500 per instance for ECS/NACH debit returns due to financial reasons, with a maximum of three charges per month for the same mandate.

For outward cheque returns (cheques deposited by customers), a fee of ₹200 per instance will apply if returned for financial reasons. Inward cheque returns (cheques issued by customers) will incur ₹500 per instance for financial reasons and ₹50 for non-financial reasons, excluding signature verification.

Also Read: ICICI Bank raises minimum balance for savings accounts from ₹10,000 to 50,000

If a transaction at another bank’s ATM or a point of sale (POS) terminal is declined because of insufficient balance, a ₹25 fee will be charged per instance.

Several public sector banks waive minimum balance penalties

Banks that have stopped charging these penalties this year include Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank, Bank of India, and Central Bank of India. State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, has not charged penalties for low balances since March 2020.