Bank Minimum Balance Rule: New Guidelines Make It Mandatory for Account Holders to Maintain Funds
The RBI has just announced good news on the minimum balance. Everyone usually has a bank account, but banks have recently changed the minimum balance that should be maintained in the account to avoid unwanted costs. More than 22,000 crore rupees in charges were recently collected from customers who failed to maintain the minimum balance in their accounts. Let's keep getting new updates from each bank.
What should be the minimum balance?
If you have an ICICI Bank account, the minimum saving balance has been increased from 10,000 to 50,000. If you live in a metro city or big metropolis and have an account in ICICI, you must keep at least ₹50,000. The new law, effective August 1, 2025, will be tough for those who previously had a maximum of ₹10,000.
Banks including Punjab National Bank, SBI, Bank of Baroda, and Canara Bank require a minimum balance of ₹ 1,000. Similarly, zero balance accounts are still permitted in the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, small cooperative regional banks, and rural banks, which means you do not have to retain any money in these accounts.
What do the new rules of RBI say?
According to the new RBI rules, if the minimum balance in a bank account is insufficient, the account becomes negative, and when a customer deposits money, the bank levies a penalty. If a bank imposes a ₹1,000 penalty for not maintaining the minimum amount, depositing ₹5,000 results in a ₹4,000 balance after deducting the penalty. This is how banks collect penalties.
Over ₹22,000 Crore Collected in Penalties
₹22,044 crore obtained due to the minimum balance. Since 2018, commercial and government banks have received ₹3,587 crore in ATM/SMS charges from customers who did not maintain a minimum balance. The government disclosed this information in parliament.
After 2018, banks got ₹22,0044.04 crore from those who did not keep manual balance, ₹8,289.32 crore from extra transactions outside than predetermined free transactions in ATM accounts, and ₹6,294 crore for delivering SMS services.
How to contact the customer
According to the new RBI standards, banks would notify clients via SMS, letter, or email before canceling an account. The circular states that if an account is closed and the owner does not receive a response, the bank should be contacted and speak with the account holder's nominee.
This upgrade is significant for customers who keep their accounts at a minimum balance and want to prevent unwanted costs.
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